Lonely Hearts Club
by WildIrishRose29
Summary: My first ever fanfic story... comments welcome. Just my own little Puck/Rachel fantasy.
1. The song

**Author's Note: This is my first time ever writing anything like this. Please forgive any horrible sentence structure or grammatical errors. It's been a long time since I've written any sort of fiction but it's a nice break from writing proposals and point papers. Any comments or suggestions welcome.**

**Disclaimer: I own none of these characters… though I'd claim Puck for my own if I could… **

"How could he?" Rachel thought to herself as she felt the tears well up in her eyes. She pressed up against the wall, hoping Finn that wouldn't look her way and see her watching them. After everything that happened last night in the bowling alley, she had let herself believe he liked her. She had started her day today on cloud nine and thought nothing could bring her down. Finn, the quarterback of the football team, liked her. The Glee Club missed her, not her talent, but _her_. But as she looked down the long hallway and saw Finn wrap a crying Quinn in his arms it felt like her heart dropped out of her chest and shattered on the floor. The air felt too thick to breathe and all she could hear was a slow, almost achingly perfect, melancholy tune in her head. Panicking, she turned around and rushed through the closest door, pulling it shut behind her and sinking to floor against it. Hot tears ran down her face, as the sobs racked themselves free from her chest. It took her a moment to realize that the music had stopped and when she looked up she saw a stunned Puck staring at her, his fingers frozen on the strings of the guitar.

Horrified, Rachel grasped for the door handle and then stopped short when she realized she couldn't return to the hallway. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the flood of insults she knew Puck was sure to have ready for her. She turned around slowly and was shocked to see that Puck was still staring at her intently, he hadn't moved an inch.

"Well?" Rachel demanded. "Aren't you going to say something?"

Puck shrugged casually, his eyes never leaving hers. Then suddenly he stood, placed the guitar gently into its black case. After clicking the latches closed, he leaned down to grab his bag and walked across the room to her. As he came towards her, Rachel stiffened with fear, completely taken off guard by him. He moved closer, his body was now just inches away from hers. He reached his hand out toward her, and she could hear the sharp intake of her own breath. She could feel his gaze bearing down on her.

Suddenly, he grasped the handle quickly and gave it a sharp turn. Looking down at her, he gave her a slightly bemused grin. "I can't open the door while you're standing in front of it."

She stumbled a few steps into the music room, a hot blush creeping into her cheeks. Puck strode forward, through the now open door into the hallway. She heard his footsteps echo down the hallway as she slumped against the desk. Her head was spinning, first the shock of finding out about the baby, then seeing Finn & Quinn and now she had humiliated herself in front of Puck. Puck, the biggest jerk she knew. He was sure to Finn about "that crazy Rachel chick" blubbering all over herself. It was one thing to yell at Finn for his deception, it was quite another to have him know that she'd cried over him.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear Puck's footsteps stop, or hear him walk back towards the music room. She almost jumped out of her skin when he cleared his throat loudly. Jerking her head up, she saw him lounging casually in the doorway.

"They're gone. "

"W-w-who's gone?" she stammered. Later, she would swear that his face softened for just a minute as she looked up at him.

Scowling, Puck straightened up. "Look, I just figured you might not want to spend all night in here crying like a little baby. They're gone. So go on home and make a sappy MySpace video about how Finn broke your heart, or whatever." With that he turned, and was gone.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but finally she pulled herself together and started the long walk home. Halfway into the twenty minute walk she realized she was humming the tune she had heard in her head while watching Finn. She felt as though she knew the song, but try as she might, the name eluded her. As she drifted off to sleep that evening, the haunting melody was strangely comforting…


	2. The Slushie Shower that never was

Puck had every intention of telling Finn about the psycho singing chick's breakdown. Really, he did. He started to say something about it this morning before first period, but then he realized Finn wasn't listening to a word he was saying. His friend looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. Puck wanted to ask him if he was okay, but the idea of talking about the baby gave him the urge to beat people up.

The warning bell rang, and Puck walked towards his English class. He spotted Rachel coming down the hall and pried the lid off his slushie. Just seeing her annoyed him; she was so prim and proper that it was sickening. He was almost within throwing distance when he had a flash of her in the music room yesterday. He'd never seen her lose her cool before, not even when he doused her in cherry slush, but yesterday she had looked so small and fragile. Shaking his head to clear the image from his mind, he looked up and realized she was only a few feet away.

Instead of avoiding him, she looked him straight in the eyes and then glanced down at the cup and braced for the icy impact. "Damn it," he thought, as her crying face popped into his head again. Growling to himself, he lowered the drink and rushed past her. When he thought it was safe he stole a backward glance, and saw her frozen in the hallway, staring at him with a bewildered look. The look on her face was almost amusing enough to override the nagging feeling that he might regret being nice to her, almost but not quite.

Puck spent the entire morning going over the events of the last 24 hours in his mind. He had immediately regretted outing Quinn's pregnancy to the Glee freaks, but then again they were bound to find out sooner or later. As for saying Finn was the baby daddy, well, that was Quinn's lie first. He hadn't been close enough to hear what Rachel said to Finn in the hallway, but it was obvious she hadn't taken the news of his impending fatherhood well. Avoiding what was bound to be an awkward conversation, he had ducked into the music room before Finn spotted him. He had only meant to stay a few minutes, but a few minutes had turned into an hour after he picked up the guitar.

At first he was just strumming a few chords, but slowly his fingers began to pick out notes and those notes turned into a melody. Suddenly, all of his confusion, anger and sadness was pouring out of him and into the song. He was so lost in the music that it took him a moment to realize where he was when Rachel burst in. She had been a wreck, all sobbing and blubbery. Crying girls scared the heck out of him, though admittedly he was usually the was the one who had caused the tears. He didn't know what to do, but he'd be damned if this chick was going to be his problem too. Putting the guitar away, he picked up his bag and headed for the door.

Halfway down the hall he glanced out the front windows of the school and spotted Finn and Quinn getting into her car. Anger welled up inside of him and he had the urge to punch the wall. Damn it, he wasn't a Lima Loser. He turned around, intending to go out the back exit of the school.

Puck had no idea what made him stop at the music room door. Maybe it was the sound of her crying, or maybe it was because a part of him understood how much pain she was in. As he stood in the doorway and watched her, the song he had been playing earlier played loudly is his mind. Okay, so maybe he could have been nicer to her. Mentioning her stupid MySpace videos may have been a little cruel, but nice didn't come easily to him. It's not like he owed her anything, she was a stupid sophomore, crying over a guy who was way out of her league. Her problems seemed small compared to his.

Later that afternoon, Rachel stopped him in the hallway. She seemed nervous, twisting her hands together and staring at the floor. "What do you want?" he growled at her. He didn't have time for this crap.

"I-I-I... I just wanted to say..."

Puck rolled his eyes and started to shove past her. She grabbed his arm and pulled hard... He wondered briefly how such a little person could be so strong. He turned, glaring down at her. "This better be good," he demanded.

She took a deep breath, straightened her spine and stared up at him with a steely look in her eyes that made Puck's skin crawl. "I just wanted to say thank you for being such a gentleman."

"Gentleman?" Puck snorted, "Yeah... That's me, a real gentleman."

"Well, I'd agree that while your normal behavior is quite boorish, you obviously didn't tell anyone about my... episode... yesterday, and I appreciate that. So, thank you."

Puck just started at her with a sneer on his face. Truthfully, he was speechless. He _wasn't_ a nice guy, and this chick really did make him want to light himself on fire. He hadn't really been nice to her, he just hadn't gone out of his way to be mean. Why the hell was she thanking him?

"Well, since 'You're Welcome' is obviously a phrase lacking from your vocabulary, I suppose we'll leave it at that." Dropping her grip on his arm, she turned and walked away.

Puck couldn't move. He just stood there like an idiot staring at her back as she weaved her way down the hall. Before he could stop it, a small smile of admiration crept onto his face. She was crazy, yes, and she used way too many big words, but even he had to admit, the chick was ballsy. And hey, what guy in their right mind wouldn't notice how good her ass looked in that tiny skirt?


	3. Reflections in the mirror

**Author's Note: Thanks so much for all the positive comments. I've never done anything like this, so I'm truly honored that anyone is enjoying this. I realize this is going kind of slow, but I couldn't agree more with the commenter who said that it doesn't make sense for them to have anything "instant". **

Rachel felt his eyes on her as she walked away from him. She wanted to look back, but she was afraid he'd be laughing at her. She didn't think she could handle the idea of him laughing at her. "Why do I even care what Noah Puckerman thinks of me?" she asked herself. "He's a bully and two-bit jock who'll never make it out of this town." That thought comforted her for a moment, as she opened her locker to grab her sheet music for "Cabaret". She tried not to notice Finn and Quinn standing less than ten feet away from her, and tried even harder not to scream when Finn gave Quinn that adorable little half smile as he pulled her into a hug. A wave of pain washed over her, as she watched them surreptitiously through her locker mirror. She wanted to walk away, but she couldn't make her feet obey her brain. To make matters worse, Puck was closing in fast on the happy couple.

"Really Quinn?" he said, looking her up and down, "How much longer do think you can pull that outfit off? Cheerio uniforms weren't built for two, you know."

Try as she might, Rachel couldn't hold back the giggle that bubbled up in her throat. She saw Quinn's face crumple, and watched Finn glare at his best friend and then they both hurried down the hall, Finn's arm wrapped protectively around Quinn. Just then, Puck looked in her direction and their eyes met in the mirror. Rachel hadn't for meant for him to see her smile, but it all happened too fast. Immediately she felt guilty, she actually did feel bad bad for Quinn on some level, and what Puck had said was really uncalled for. She had every intention of telling him just that, as she turned toward him, but the look on his face knocked the breath right out of her. He was _grinning _at her. Well, maybe not grinning exactly, more like... leering at her. She pulled her arms tight across her chest in effort to cover herself, even though she knew full well she was completely clothed.

"Hmm..." he said, tilting his head to the side and peering around her. "Could you turn around again? The view's actually not bad from behind..."

She opened her mouth, but all she could manage to get out was an indignant gasp. She felt her cheeks burn hot with embarrassment and she twirled back to her open locker, hoping he'd just leave her alone. Instead, he leaned closer, and every nerve in her body seemed to fire at the same time. Her head felt fuzzy and his breath was hot on her ear as he purred in a low voice, "I'm **not** a nice guy, Berry." And with that, he sauntered away.

It felt like an eternity but eventually Rachel's heartbeat slowed and her eyes regained their focus. She closed her locker slowly and headed toward the auditorium, trying to make sense of what had just happened. She was so intent on her thoughts, she didn't even notice Finn as she walked past him. Nor did she realize she realize that she was humming the heartsick melody that had comforted her yesterday.


	4. The Gratutious Shower Scene

**Author's note: I really, really hate certain words. I've used one of those words in this story, only because it's what I thought Puck would say, and when I tried to change the word, it just sounded wrong. I'm very sorry if anyone is offended by it.**

"There," he thought to himself, with a self satisfied smirk, "that oughta scare her away." Something about Rachel Berry unnerved him, and she was a headache he didn't need right now.

Puck was grateful for football practice that afternoon, even if Coach Tanaka had made him run laps for knocking out that second string kid. Its not like it was his fault the kid couldn't handle a tackle. To be fair, the guy wasn't exactly expecting it, since the play they were running was over, but Finn had been walking toward him with that "we need to talk" expression on his face and he'd needed a distraction. That, and he just really needed to hit someone.

Standing in the hot shower, he was glad that running laps had given him an excuse to avoid talking to Finn in the locker room. He knew it was wrong to avoid him, but he had no idea what to say to his friend. On one hand he felt bad that he'd slept with Quinn, and that somehow she had managed to convince Finn that he was the father. On the other hand Puck was still angry that somehow, no matter what Finn did, everything he touched turned to gold. Not only had he managed to join Glee without losing face, he'd saved the day by "discovering" the queer kid could kick a football and ended the football team's losing streak. Did anyone remember who caught the touchdown? No, all they could talk about was how "Beyonce" won the game. Finn hadn't even been paying attention to Quinn, which is how Puck had managed to land her in the first place, and still, she thought Finn would make a better father to _**his**_ kid than he would.

Even Rachel loved Finn, it was obvious she was still pining over him even after finding out the baby. Not that having an annoying sophomore signing freak crushing on you was any great accomplishment... even if she did have a tight little body.... and she smelled like sugar cookies and sex all rolled into one.... "Damn it!" he thought as he turned the shower handle sharply and the icy cold water hit him. Leaning his head against the shower wall, he stood there in the cold spray until he was shivering. What the hell was wrong with him? Turning the water off, he tried to conjure up an image of Quinn in his mind. Blonde, beautiful, Quinn. He thought of how her milky white skin had felt against his... ahh, yes, that was better. He remembered what it was like to kiss her, to feel that long silky hair brush against him, it was so soft and thick... he imagined wrapping his hands in those long chestnut strands... Chestnut strands? "DAMN IT" he said aloud as he wrenched the cold water on again.

Ten minutes later he walked out of the shower area, freezing cold and more in need of a punching bag than ever. The absolute last thing he wanted to see was Finn sitting on the bench in the middle of the locker room.

"Dude, not now," he growled at Finn.

"C'mon man..." Finn said pleadingly. "We need to talk."

"Dude... This is this the locker room, not Oprah. If you want to have a heart to heart about your 'feelings' go find one of those Glee freaks."

Finn let out a long sigh, and gave him a pointed look. "You do remember that you joined Glee club, right?"

Puck glared at him, and slammed his locker door open. "Yeah, so?" he snarled.

Finn just sat there quietly, and finally Puck relented. "Fine, what do you want to talk about?"

"Why'd you tell her about Quinn and the baby?" Finn asked quietly.

Puck was momentarily confused, this wasn't what he had expected. "Tell who?"

"Rachel. Why did you have to tell her? She hates me now."

Puck was stunned. With everything going on... Quinn and the baby, Glee, Football... Finn wanted to talk to him about Rachel? He was starting to feel like he was stuck in some bizarro universe. Why did everything keep coming back to her? She was annoying and loud, and seriously, what teenager talked like that? He realized that Finn was staring at him oddly and he quickly tried to remember what Finn had asked him. "I didn't tell her, the glee freaks did." He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say if Finn asked him how the Glee club found out, so he tried to distract him.

"Why do you care what Rac.. what that weirdo thinks anyway?" He really hoped Finn hadn't caught that...

"I just do, she's...special..." Finn's voice trailed off as he stared at his hands.

"Yeah, _special ed _maybe," Puck said with a cruel laugh. "Look, you're with Quinn. You're going to be a father. Special or not, the Berry chick doesn't matter."

With a heavy sigh, Finn stood up. "I guess you're right. I better go find Quinn. You're still coming to the invitational tonight right?"

Puck nodded, "I'll be there man, no worries."

Watching the locker room door swing shut, Puck slammed his fist against the nearest locker. What the hell was he thinking? If Finn liked Rachel, Quinn would be pissed. If Quinn was pissed at Finn then maybe she'd give him a chance. That's what he wanted right? To be with Quinn, to be a father to his kid and to prove to _everyone_ that he wasn't a "Lima Loser". So why the hell had he told Finn to forget about Rachel?

His head was spinning as he yanked his clothes on. Looking up at the clock on the wall he realized he still had over two hours to kill before he had to warm up for the invitational. He thought about going home, but the idea of running into his mom's latest scumbag boyfriend was less than appealing. Without even thinking he walked down the hall to the music room, and clicked open the latches of the guitar case. Picking up the battered instrument, he settled on top of a nearby desk and started playing. He wasn't quite sure where the notes came from, but he played them anyway. The music filled him as he felt all his anger and confusion pour out of him, into the notes as they formed the melody.

He was so wrapped up in the song, he didn't see the small, brown haired girl standing in the doorway, a look of utter disbelief on her face.


	5. Impeccable Taste

Rachel was staring in open mouthed disbelief. She watched the tan fingers move nimbly across the guitar strings, heard the music flowing from the guitar and she was impressed. She saw the foot quietly tapping out the beat, saw the broad, powerful shoulders moving in perfect harmony with the chorus, and she was enthralled. She saw the stripe of thick brown hair that stood out in sharp contrast to the shaved white scalp and she was shocked. _Puck? _Noah Puckerman was the person playing this song?

Earlier in the day, Rachel had spent her study hall pouring through sheet music trying to identify the mystery music she had heard the day before. She had kept the piano player after rehearsal for twenty minutes, insisting he must have played the piece before. She had even asked Mr. Ryerson, that wretched man, if he knew the composition, but it was useless. No one had ever heard the composition before.

She had been on her way home when she heard the song floating down the hall. Winding down the empty corridor, she followed the song until it led her to the open door of the music room. And now here he was, Puck, the last person she'd ever expect to know anything about music, playing the song that had haunted her.

As she stood there watching him, she couldn't help but notice how _different _he looked. Gone was the self satisfied smirk he nearly always wore. His face was softer, and goodness gracious, more handsome if that were possible. She suddenly flashed to the previous day, her rushing into the music room... his fingers frozen on the guitar strings. She had heard him play before and hadn't even realized it.

Just then the music stopped, Puck looked up and saw her staring at him. She couldn't believe it, was he... _blushing? _Rachel laughed at loud at the thought. His face twisted into a angry snarl as he quickly stood, dropping the guitar to his side.

"No!" Rachel said adamantly, taking a step forward. "Don't stop! It was.... you were..."

"It was nothing. Forget you ever saw that." Puck said in low menacing tone.

"No, really... it was beautiful. What song is that?"

"Seriously, it's nothing. I was just messing around."

"You... you wrote that?" Rachel queried in amazement.

Puck shifted his weight from side to side uncomfortably. His eyes darted around the room, as if searching for an alternate exit.

"I didn't write anything. I was just messing around, killing time until the stupid Glee thing tonight. What are you doing here anyway? Didn't you quit Glee?" He demanded.

Rachel winced visibly at the reminder of her defection. "I... I was just on my way home, when I heard the music..."

"And what? You've got nothing better to do than listen to shitty guitar playing?"

"It's not sh...." Rachel stammered, unable to bring herself to use such crass language. "You play the guitar very well. I had no idea you were so talented."

Puck turned toward her. "Talented?" he scoffed. "Yeah right. Little Miss Broadway thinks the dumb jock is talented? Riiight..."

"I possess impeccable taste, thank you very much. Being gifted myself, I recognize talent when I hear it, and though it pains me to admit it, that was exceptional," she stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Pains you, huh? Bet you'd have no problem if it were Finn who was playing," he said coldly. His eyes were like daggers as he stared her down.

Rachel knew she had messed up. She hadn't meant to insult him but she was having a difficult time reconciling the image of this sexy, musically adept man in front of her with the neanderthal jock who had doused her with slushies on a daily basis.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, " I just never imagined..."

"Never imagined that I wasn't a loser?" He spat venomously. "You don't know me, Berry. You don't know anything."

The moment of tense silence was broken when Finn walked into the room.

"Rachel!" he exclaimed, the delight obvious in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all," she stated tersely, her eyes never leaving Puck. Clearing her throat, she plastered a wide grin on her face and turned to Finn. "Good luck tonight, Finn. I'm sure you'll be _exceptional._" Stretching up on her toes, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and swept out of the room.

Finn glanced from Puck to the empty doorway, a look of confusion on his face. "Exceptional? Is that a good thing?"


	6. Air Raid Sirens

**Author's Note: I realize that in the show, the invitational took place the same day that Puck told the Glee club about the baby, but I'm claiming creative license (that sounds a lot better than "I didn't remember that until after chapter 5")**

**Disclaimer: I (still) don't own any the characters... but I would have gladly taken April Rhodes place in the shower scene :)  
**

"What was that all about?" Finn asked, eying Puck suspiciously.

"Nothing." Puck responded quickly.

Finn raised an eyebrow, "Really?" he asked doubtfully.

"Dude, it was nothing. That chick is nuts." Puck said forcefully. Finn might not be the smartest guy on the planet, but Puck knew his best friend had an eerie way of getting people to spill their guts. He knew he had to change the subject quickly. "Where's Quinn?"

"In the bathroom," Finn replied with a heavy sigh, "I thought morning sickness was only, you know, in the morning. Quinn seems to puke all day long."

"Is she okay? Is there something wrong with the baby?" Puck asked worriedly. Crap, wrong thing to say. The suspicious look returned to Finn's eyes just as Mr. Schuester and the wheelchair kid entered the room.

Puck pounced on Arite, "Dude, can you show me that bridge we were talking about the other day?"

"Ah, yeah, I guess so..."

"Great," Puck said, cutting Artie off, "I'll go grab your guitar." Puck marched over to the instrument closet, leaving Mr. Schuester, Finn and Artie staring in puzzlement at his back.

The rest of the Glee club trickled in over the the next few minutes, and Puck kept himself busy playing guitar with Artie. The wheelchair kid was actually a pretty good guitarist and Puck found himself enjoying the impromptu jam session. He realized he'd never really had the chance to play with anyone else before. The others weren't exactly staring at him, but he saw them sneak a few peeks and then turn back to their whispered discussion.

Puck was surprised at the disappointment he felt when Mr. Schuester clapped his hands and told them all to go change into their costumes."Thanks man," He said to Artie as he put the guitar away.

"Anytime," Artie said, wheeling himself towards the dressing room. Turning back he added, "I'm serious, let me know any time you want to play... "

Puck just swallowed nervously and nodded. "Thanks, dude, I will." What was with these people? A few weeks ago he had shoved Artie, wheelchair and all, in a porta-potty and threatened to flip it, and now the guy was inviting Puck play guitar with him? The bizarro universe theory was seemingly more and more likely.

The next half an hour went by in a blur of activity. Finn had been so busy hovering over Quinn that Puck had easily managed to avoid talking to him. Mercedes and Tina had let out a low whistle when he walked out of the dressing room in his ridiculously tight jeans and cowboy hat.

"Daaamn boy..." Mercedes said teasingly, "looking good."

Puck laughed genuinely, tipping his hat towards her. "Thank you, ma'am" he drawled with a wink. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Santana, Brittany and Quinn staring at him. "Eat your hearts out, ladies," he thought smugly.

He could taste the booze on April's lips when she kissed him during the warm ups. He decided to try and catch up with her after the show. After all, she'd made it clear that she enjoyed his "talents". Yeah, that was exactly what he needed, a few beers and a willing cougar. If that didn't take his mind off Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray, nothing would.

During the intermission, Puck sat on the stool in the backstage area, still grinning from the applause the audience had given them, when Mr. Schuester walked in and told everyone that April was gone. "Great," he thought glumly, "just great." He had really been looking forward to the private after-party in the locker room showers that April had promised him.

As if to add insult to injury, Rachel Berry picked that moment to walk into the room. She started talking in that "I'm going to make a big speech, instead of just getting to the point" voice, so Puck tuned her out and looked her up and down. What the hell was she wearing? The chick had a smoking hot, tight little body, and yet she looked like she let a retarded nun dress her. Thankfully this particular nun had nothing against extremely short skirts, which was the one good part of what she had on. Maybe if she turned around and leaned forward a little..

"You don't know the choreography." he heard Quinn say, rousing him out of his daydream. He saw Santana nod in agreement.

He looked at Finn, and knew his friend was done for, even before he heard him say "Then we're going to have to give her a lot of help out there."

He felt a pang of jealousy in his gut, as he saw Finn smile at Rachel, and his insides twisted even more when he saw the look of adoration on Rachel's face. "Saint Finn," he thought in disgust, "saves the day again."

She had tried to talk him while they were waiting to go on stage.

"Look Puck, about this afternoon..."

"Forget it," he said coldly.

"But... I just wanted to say..."

"I said forget it." He stared down at her with ice in eyes. He didn't need yet another person reminding him that they thought he was a loser. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was pity.

After the show, he pushed through the crowd of parents and friends who had gathered backstage to congratulate them and ducked into the dressing room. Once there, he took his time changing, hoping no one would notice that his mother hadn't showed up. He waited until it sounded like everyone was gone, and picked up his bag. When he reached the doorway, he heard two people talking quietly.

"Sooo..." Finn said, rocking back on his heels. "I just wanted to say thank you."

"You're welcome Finn," Rachel replied softly.

Reaching forward, Finn brushed a lock of her hair back from her eyes, letting his hand linger and cup her cheek. "Are we, you know, cool and all?"

Rachel stood there, staring up at him. "I need to know, Finn, did that kiss mean anything to you?"

Finn gulped, "Rachel.. I... of course..."

"FINN!" Finn jumped back as Quinn called his name from the hallway beyond.

"I... I gotta go, Rach, I'm sorry." Finn gave her an apologetic look and rushed out the door.

Rachel stood staring at the empty doorway Finn had just exited, touching the warm spot on her cheek where his hand had been, tears welling up in her eyes.

Puck's head was reeling. They'd _kissed_? Oh, that was rich. No wonder Finn was all tied up in knots. This was perfect, there was no way Quinn would forgive Finn when she found out. He was already thinking of the best way to break the news when he noticed Rachel was still standing there, frozen in place. He knew he should hide out until she left. If she saw him, she'd know that he had overheard the conversation she'd just had with Finn. Talking to her would just create more drama.

He could think of a million other reasons to avoid her, and yet he found himself moving toward her. Warning bells were going off in his head. "Bad idea, man, _really_ bad idea," he thought to himself, but he couldn't stop his feet.

She didn't hear Puck as he walked up behind her, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when he touched her arm. Twirling around, she looked up at him in shock, the tears still streaming down her face. With a loud gasp, she buried her face in his chest and began to cry in earnest.

Instinctively Puck wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against his body, anything to make her stop crying. The warning bells in his head had escalated to air raid sirens, but he didn't let her go. He let his chin rest on the top of her head, and rocked her slowly back and forth.

**A/N:** **I almost had him sing "Don't Cry" by Guns 'n Roses to her.... don't know why but Puck strikes me as a guy who would appreciate a little GnR**.


	7. Wildcat

"What the..." Quinn exclaimed loudly.

Startled, Rachel jumped back, pushing Puck away from her. Quinn was standing just inside the door, with Finn's arm wrapped around her waist.

"Quinn, uh.. Quinn forgot her bag." Finn stammered, gesturing to the red and white backpack sitting on the table. His eyes moved from Rachel to Puck and then back to Rachel, clearly wanting to ask what was going on.

Quinn pulled Finn closer to her and glared at Puck. "Looks like we're intruding on a _private_ moment."

Finn just stood there silently, the look of confusion on his face turning to one of anger.

Rachel was furious, _he _was angry with _her_? He had just left her standing alone, crying, while he ran off to be with his pregnant girlfriend and _he _was angry with _her_? She heard Mercedes' voice in her head, "Oh, hell to the no!" Glancing at Puck, she saw that he was looking at Quinn with that irritating smirk on face. Before she could think about it, she grabbed Puck's hand.

"Don't worry about it Quinn, we were just leaving. Obviously this room is a little too _public_ for what Noah and I have planned." Glancing down at Quinn's still flat belly, she continued, "I'm sure you understand what I mean." She saw the look of shock that fluttered over Puck's face but luckily he decided to play along. Letting go of her hand, he draped his arm around her shoulder, gave Finn a cocky head nod and guided her past the gaping couple into the hall.

"_Noah? _Did she just call him _Noah?"_ Finn asked incredulously, as they passed through the door.

Once they were a safe distance from the auditorium, Rachel tried to pull away from Puck's arm. She was surprised when he pulled her tightly to his side.

"Don't even think about it Berry," he muttered into her ear. "You started this, you know. You can't bail out now."

Rachel let out a horrified gasp. "You... you aren't... we aren't... you can't seriously think we're going to..."

Puck's face turned bright red as he tried to hold back his laughter. "Only in your dreams, Berry. I just meant that they could still be watching us, and you need to make it look it good if you're going to pull this off." Puck pushed the doors to the parking lot open, and they walked together out into the cool night air.

Walking to a truck at the far end of the parking lot, he unlocked the passenger door and opened it, gesturing for her to get in. "C'mon, it's late, I'll give you a ride home."

Rachel shrank back slightly from the vehicle, with a look of uncertainty. The idea of being with him in an enclosed space for any length of time made her dizzy. "Is this really necessary?" she asked coolly.

She watched the easy smile on Puck's face twist into an angry snarl. "You basically just told Quinn and Finn we were going to go fuck, but I'm not good enough to give you a ride? Forget it..." He reached across her, intending to slam the door shut.

Just then they heard the heavy double doors creak open at the other end of the parking lot. Putting his hand on her lower back, he shoved her forward toward the open truck. "Get in" he growled, and she quickly swung herself into the seat. He closed the door behind her, and walked around to the drivers side. Without even thinking, Rachel reached across the cab and clicked the lock open for him.

He pulled himself into the driver's seat and slid the keys in the ignition. With a quick turn of his wrist, the engine roared to life and music blared from the speakers. Puck quickly backed out of the parking space and the tires pealed loudly as he sped out of the parking lot.

Rachel leaned her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. A low moan escaped her lips as the realization of what she had just done sank in. The loud rock music pounded in her head as she imagined several equally horrifying scenarios of what the next day would bring, and each one made her sink further into a pit of despair. She stole a quick look at Puck, but she couldn't read his expression in the dim lighting. Closing her eyes again, she wished silently that she would wake up from this nightmare.

"Where am I going?" Puck asked.

"Excuse me?"

Puck flicked a knob on the radio, and the music faded away. She realized that he had pulled into a gas station several blocks from school.

"Where do you live? You know, so I can drive you there? Unless you want to sit here all night," he said gesturing to the gas station. "Of course, they do make great slushies here..."

Rachel turned and was surprised to see him smiling. "It's okay, I can walk from here."

Puck's face turned serious. "It's ten thirty at night, Rachel, and you're already in my truck. Don't be stupid. Just tell me how to get to your house."

Rachel started to protest but the look on his face changed her mind. "Fine," she said, "Take a left out of here and go five blocks and take a right on Maple."

They drove in tense silence. After he turned down her street, Rachel pointed out her house to him. He pulled into the driveway, and Rachel clicked open her seatbelt. Opening the door, she started to get out, and then turned back toward him. "So what are we going to do about this?" she asked.

"We?" he smirked, "this is your mess Berry, _we_ aren't going to do anything."

"But... but... Finn and Quinn are going to think... people are going to think..." she lowered her voice to a whisper, "people are going to think we had sex!"

Puck just shrugged. "Oh well," he said casually.

"Oh well?" she hissed. "_Oh well?"_

"It's not like it'll be a first for me Berry," he said, "Or a second... or a third.. or..."

"Yes, thank you," she interrupted "you've made your point quite clear. It will however, be a first for me."

"Should have thought of that before you dragged me into your little production there, Berry."

"Ha," she snorted, "I hardly _dragged _you into this. But I digress," she continued in an icy tone, "you gave me fair warning that you weren't a nice guy. I should have listened more carefully." She climbed down and slammed the door behind her.

Leaning over, Puck rolled down the window. "Hey Berry," he called.

Flipping her hair back, she looked over her shoulder at him. "What?"

"If it makes you feel better," he purred with a wicked grin,"I'll be sure to tell Finn what a wildcat you were."

Rachel whipped her head around and stomped up the stairs to her front door.

For the second time today, she left Puck staring behind her, admiring both her guts and her ass.


	8. Nationwide Fabric Shortage

Puck was tired and cranky. It had been almost eleven by the time he got home last night, and even though he was exhausted, he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes the events of the day played over and over in his mind like a bad movie.

He hadn't wanted to come to school today, but they had a game tonight, and Coach wouldn't let him play if he missed class. On the way to the gas station for his morning slushie, he noticed that he could still smell Rachel in his truck. He wondered briefly what kind of perfume she wore, he'd never smelled anything like it before.

He thought about calling her this morning, but he was afraid to turn his phone back on. He'd finally shut it off last night, after ignoring numerous texts and calls from both Finn and Quinn. Of course, even if he could turn his phone on, he didn't have her phone number... it's not like they were friends. He wasn't even sure what he'd say to her if he could call her, "Sorry about last night"? Sorry for what exactly? The whole charade had been her idea. Sorry he was mean to her? The chick wasn't exactly sweetness and light herself. Sorry they didn't actually hook up? Grinning to himself, now _that_ one might actually be true. She might be crazy and annoying, but he had a feeling she really would be a wildcat in bed, he'd just have to find a way to keep her mouth occupied so she wouldn't yap the whole time.

The car behind him honked their horn and Puck realized he had a green light. Shaking his head, he put his foot on the gas, and wondered what the hell had gotten into him. He had a phone full of hot cougars that would jump at the chance to get a piece of him and he was thinking about Rachel Berry? With a little more than a pang of guilt he also remembered that he had Quinn and their unborn child to think about. Rachel was off limits and that's all there was to it.

Puck pulled into the school parking lot, and climbed out of his truck. He spotted Finn making a beeline towards him. Glancing around the open parking lot, Puck realized there was no way to avoid talking to him. Leaning back, he waited for Finn to reach him.

He had expected Finn to be pissed. He had even been prepared to have Finn yell at him. He had _not_ been ready for Finn to grab him by his shirt and slam him up against his truck.

"What is going on between you and her?" Finn demanded.

Puck's mind was reeling. Was he talking about Quinn or Rachel? Puck decided to take the safe route and be nonspecific. "Dude, nothing..." Puck said quickly,"now let me down." People in the parking lot were starting to stare.

Finn looked at Puck doubtfully, and kept a firm hold on his shirt. "Man, I _saw_ you two together, you left with her last night and she called you _Noah!" _Finn voice was rising with each accusation.

"Let me down, and I'll explain it all..." Puck replied, trying not to sound like he was begging.

Finn reluctantly let go of his shirt, and Puck slid down the side of the truck, his feet landing solidly on the ground. "She called you _Noah!_" Finn repeated accusingly.

"Dude, that is my name you know..."

"Yeah, but the only person who calls you Noah is your mom. Why in the hell would Rachel, who you hate, call you..."

"Yeah man, I get the point... Who knows why that chick does anything?

She's kinda weird you know."

"She's _not _weird," Finn said through gritted teeth, "she's different, she's spec..."

"I get it, I get it..." Puck interrupted, "you think she's _special."_

"And obviously, you don't... so _what the hell_ were you doing with her last night?"

Puck actually looked thoughtful for a brief moment, "I'm not really sure..." he muttered, more to himself than to Finn.

Finn stepped forward, as though he might grab Puck's shirt again.

"Look man, I don't really know what happened yesterday, but it's not what you think..."

"Then what was it?"

"She was helping me..."

"Helping you? Really?" Finn spat back sarcastically, "Helping you with what?"

"With... with my music..." Damn, he should have just gone with the wildcat thing, that would've been easier to explain to Finn than this was going to "She heard me playing guitar and we ended up talking. She's, you know, gifted and shit at that music stuff. I just thought maybe she could help me a little."

"Since when do you care about your _music_?"

"Since always..." Puck replied defensively. "You aren't the only guy in this town who's got something going on other that football, you know."

Finn scoffed and Puck's face turned red with fury. "You have Quinn. Why do you care about Berry? You can't have them both damn it."

"I know that, but Rachel deserves..."

"Deserves what? Something better? _Someone_ better? Go on... that's what you were going to say, right?"

Finn's held his head down, refusing to meet Puck's gaze.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Great, even my best friend thinks I'm loser." Puck was enraged now. "I didn't touch her. I don't want her. But if I did, man, I'd make her happier and take better care of her than you **ever** could." Even Puck himself wasn't quite sure if that last line was about Quinn or Rachel. Pushing past Finn, he stormed off towards the school.

Students scattered in every direction in his wake, rushing off to tell their friends that Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman had just been fighting over _Rachel Berry_.

Puck was so lost in his own thoughts that he walked straight into Rachel, sending his books flying through the air. He bent over to pick to them up, as Rachel started yapping about the conversation he'd just had with Finn. He glanced up at her, and although he knew she was talking, he couldn't hear a word she was saying. He couldn't have even told you what color shirt she was wearing. All he could see were long tan legs, leading up to a tiny scrap of material that he was surprised qualified as a skirt. Damn it, didn't the chick own any jeans?

Standing up quickly, he looked down at down at her, "Seriously, is there a nationwide shortage of fabric I don't know about? I'm not exactly complaining, but..."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel demanded.

Puck tried to shake the image of those legs from his mind, and when he actually looked at her face he realized she was pissed. No, not just pissed, but Pissed with a capital P. "Huh? What? Nevermind... What did you say again?" he stammered.

"I _asked _you what just happened in the parking lot," she demanded, her hands on hips, "I've just been informed that you and Finn were fighting over me." She tried to keep the mad face on, but Puck could see the self satisfied smile she was holding back.

He'd just made a fool of himself and found out that even best friend thought he was a "Lima Loser", and she was _happy? _It took everything he had not to throw his slushie on her right then and there. "Go away Berry," he snarled at her.

"No," she said, tossing her hair back over her shoulder and crossing her arms across her chest. "Not until you tell me word for word what was said."

Puck raised an eyebrow at her. The last thing he wanted to do was rehash his conversation with Finn. "Really?" he asked stepping toward her, "because that part was pretty boring."

"Excuse me?" she demanded, holding her ground as he moved closer to her, "Well then what was the interesting part?"

"The interesting part," he purred, stepping even closer, "is what I _thinking."_

He was only inches away from her now, staring down at her with a smile that had melted the hearts of a thousand cougars. Still she stood firm, tilting her head back to meet his gaze. "Is that so? Why, by all means, please enlighten me as to what you were thinking," she cooed insincerely.

He reached his hand up and placed it on the wall behind her head and leaned closer, forcing her to take a small step back. "I was thinking that Saint Finn probably wouldn't know what to do with you if he ever caught you."

She was breathing hard now, but she tried to play it cool. "Oh," she said in a casual voice, "and I suppose you would?"

His grin nearly made her knees buckle, "Oh I would Berry, trust me." Pushing away from the wall, he bent his mouth to her ear and spoke in a low tone, "You wouldn't know what hit you, but you'd love every minute of it."

When Rachel opened her eyes, he was gone, walking down the hallway with his trademark "I'm the man" swagger. Tearing her eyes from him, she turned and ran smack into Finn's chest.

"Seriously Rachel, what the hell is going on with you two?"


	9. He's not a nice guy

"Nothing, Finn," Rachel said with a sigh, "There's nothing going on between us."

"Stop saying 'Nothing'! I saw you in the music room, and there was _something_ going on. I saw you backstage last night, and that was definitely not nothing. You left with him Rachel! I saw you get in his truck!" Finn exclaimed.

Rachel leaned against the wall and looked dejectedly at the floor, "It's not what you think Finn."

Finn threw his hands up, "Then what is it? Puck made up some crazy story about you helping him with his music. I just want to know the truth."

"He told you about the song?" she asked with surprise.

"Song? What song?"

"Nothing, never mind..." Rachel said, looking back down the hall where Puck had just been.

Finn grabbed her arm, "would you stop saying 'nothing' and just tell me what's happening here?"

Rachel straightened noticeably. "What's it to you Finn? Why do you even care?"

Finn's face softened, "Because I care about you, Rachel. You know that."

"Care about me how?"

"I...Rach, you know..."

"No, Finn, I don't know, and I'm not sure you do either. All I know is that no matter how or in what way you care about me, you can't give me what

I want."

Finn's shoulders slumped. "I care..." he whispered.

Rachel actually felt sorry for him, "I know you do Finn," she said softly, "but it doesn't matter now. You have Quinn and the baby to think about it. She needs you, now more than ever." She couldn't believe she was saying this, couldn't believe she was telling him to go back to Quinn.

"Rach... about Puck..."

"What about him?"

"Just... be careful, okay? He's not exactly a nice guy."

Rachel laughed, "He mentioned that, actually."

"He did?" Finn asked, looking confused.

"Never mind, it's..."

"Nothing. Yeah, I see how it is. Look, just... you... you deserve better."

Rachel gave him a quizzical look. "I don't think you have anything to worry about Finn, but I'm curious, isn't he supposed to be your best friend?"

"He is, but..."

"But what?"

"But I don't know what he's up to with you... what his angle is...."

"Why does there have to be an angle? Maybe this really is about his music." Rachel frowned, she couldn't quite figure out why she was defending him.

Finn gave a sarcastic laugh, "Yeah, right Rach. His _music."_

"Why is that so funny?"

"Because Puck doesn't care about music, he joined Accafellas for the cougars..."

"Excuse me, did you say _cougars?_" Rachel asked in confusion.

"Yeah, cougars... hot moms... Anyway he joined Accafellas for the hot moms and he joined Glee..." Finn's voice trailed off as he realized he had no idea why Puck had joined Glee..

Rachel watched him carefully, it really was adorable how you could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

Finn gave up, "Well, I don't know why he joined Glee, but there has to be a reason, and it's definitely not the music."

"Really? Why is that so hard for you to believe?"

"Because I've known Puck my whole life, and I know he doesn't care about singing and stuff."

"What about the guitar?" Rachel asked pointedly.

"The guitar? I mean he plays a little, yeah, but it's not serious or anything."

Rachel found that hard to believe, she had seen him yesterday, he had poured his heart and soul into that guitar.

"I think, Finn, that you might not know your best friend as well as you think you do."

"Huh?"

"I'm saying he's a talented guitar player, gifted even. If you're his best friend, why don't you know that? Even Artie knows it, he was telling me this morning how they played together yesterday."

Finn just stared at her in disbelief.

"Maybe," she continued, "he's not a total loser, maybe he's just afraid people will judge him, kinda like you were afraid when you joined Glee."

Just then the bell rang, and Finn looked down at her.

"Maybe Rach, but being a good guitar player doesn't make him a nice guy. Just watch yourself."

It really wasn't a surprise that Rachel couldn't concentrate during her first period chemistry class. She kept thinking about her conversation with Finn. Well, that and what Puck had said to her, but she was afraid if she replayed _that _conversation too many times, she'd forget how to breathe. So instead, she concentrated on what Finn had said. She really wasn't stupid, she knew Finn was right. Puck wasn't a nice guy, and he wasn't interested in her. She wasn't quite sure why he was even talking to her, but he must have his reasons.

It had genuinely surprised her that Finn didn't know anything about Puck playing the guitar. If there was one thing she understood, it was how lonely it could be when you had no one to share the things you were passionate about. She just never thought, in a million years, that Noah Puckerman could be lonely in _any_ way. It was kind of sad, really.

"Well," she thought triumphantly, "it doesn't have to be that way." She spent her study hall in the music room working on her master plan. She finished just before the bell rang, and dashed out into the hallway excitedly, clutching a stack of papers to her chest.


	10. It's a metaphor

**Author's Note: I added on to Chapter Nine, so you might want to reread it before you read this. Sorry, I thought I was done with Rachel's POV, but when I started this chapter, I realized I was wrong. Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments. I can't remember the last time I had more than two people read anything I've written, so I'm awe that over 1,000 folks have read this. Oh and Pixie? Welcome to the dark side. :) Glad I could reel you in.**

Puck was standing in the hall after 7th period, talking with some of the guys from the team about their upcoming game when Rachel came bouncing up to him.

"Puck, Hi!" she said cheerfully, "I'm glad I found you!"

Puck looked up and down the nearly empty hallway. "Yeah," he said sarcastically, "must have been real hard." Matt and the other football players laughed as if on cue.

Rachel's smile faltered for a second, but she recovered quickly and plunged ahead. "Oh, well... no, not really. But anyway, can we talk for a second? I've got something for you."

Puck heard the guys snicker, and one of them muttered, "I'll bet she does.." under his breath.

"Not now Berry." Puck said harshly.

"But.. but.. It's really important, and it'll just take a second." She was practically bouncing out of her shoes.

"Ooh.. it's _important... _better hurry Puck."

Puck glared at his friends and turned back to her, "Later Rach."

"Oooh.. yeah Rach, _later..." _group chorused in a singsong voice.

Rachel looked from Puck to the group of guys and then back to Puck. The smile fell from her face and she shrank back visibly. "Oh.. um.. yeah, I get it. Sorry... well here, I just.. just wanted you to um, have these." With that, she shoved the papers into his hands and walked quickly in the opposite direction.

Puck didn't even look at the papers, just flipped them into his notebook as he turned back to the guys.

"Oooh Puck man, what's that all about? Slumming with Glee freaks now?" one of the guys teased.

Stealing a glance down the hall, he watched her hasty retreat. "It's nothing, man, nothing."

Matt gestured towards where Rachel stood, "Nothing sure does have a nice ass though." The others nodded in agreement. Puck threw Matt a grateful look, and quickly changed the topic.

Later as he walked to his locker to put his notebook away, he saw the edge of the one of the pages she had given him. Curious, he flipped the notebook open and looked closer. It was staff paper. Blank staff paper. Flipping through, he saw she had carefully written "Composed by Noah Puckerman" at the bottom of each page, followed by a gold star sticker.

Great, just fucking great. Slamming his locker open he shoved the notebook inside.

"You don't like it?"

Puck jumped at the sound of her voice. "Jesus, Rachel..."

"I'm sorry, I just... I wasn't thinking earlier. I didn't mean to embarrass you earlier, I was just really excited."

Slouching against his locker, Puck sighed. "Yeah, about that... Rach..." He saw her face light up when he called her Rach. He had to put a stop to this now. "_Berry,_" he said in a firm voice, "I don't know what you think is going here..."

"Nothing." she said quickly, "nothing is going on, I just wanted to apologize."

"You want to apologize? To me? For what?"

"For.. well.. everything I guess, for last night mostly though. I should never have put you in that position. I forced you into going along with my plan. It was very thoughtless."

Puck laughed, "Berry, you couldn't force me to do anything if you tried. I was bored, and it was worth it to see the looks on their faces."

Rachel looked taken aback, "Oh, okay then... well I'm also sorry that I implied that... well, I'm sorry I seemed so surprised by your talent." Seeing the scowl cloud his face, she rushed on, "I wasn't, you know. I wasn't surprised by your talent. Well I was surprised because I didn't know you could play the guitar, and..."

Puck held up his hand. "Enough Rach, I get it." He looked around uncomfortably, "Look, I get what you're trying to do here, but I wish you'd just forget about it. It's really no big deal."

Rachel looked puzzled, "But it is a big deal. You have an amazing gift, why on earth would you hide from it?"

"I'm not hiding from anything," he said coldly. "I said it before, and I'll say it again, Berry. You don't know me. You don't know anything."

Rachel looked stung. "I'm s..s..sorry. I just thought maybe you'd want me to help you..."

"I don't want your help. I don't want anything from you."

Rachel met his gaze, and said nothing.

Damn, she creeped him out. Anyone else would have run away in tears by now, but she just stood staring him down like she knew his darkest secrets. Well, at least he knew one way to make her go away. "On second thought," he said wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her body firmly against his, "There is one thing I wouldn't mind getting from you."


	11. Sugar Cookies and Sex

**Author's shameless plug: **

**In the words of (my version of) Rachel Berry, "I possess impeccable taste, thank you very much. Being gifted myself, I recognize talent when I hear it, and though it pains me to admit it, that was exceptional,"**

**Okay so I'm not egotistical enough to claim to be gifted, but I do recognize talent when I see it. If you haven't read _Conversations Between Two McKinley High Students _or _Sleep Out In the Quiet_ by Glow, please stop now and go read them. It's okay, my story will be here when you get back. Promise. Trust me, it'll be worth your time. **

**Done with those? Okay, you may continue....  
**

She felt like she had slammed head first into a stone wall. Except this stone wall radiated heat. Slowly she became aware of the strong arm wrapped around her waist, and she realized that it was his chest beneath her open palms. Her legs were straddling his hard thigh and her lips were only inches from his. If she closed her eyes and leaned forward...

They were nose to nose and she was still staring into his eyes. Oh god, those eyes... Looking into them she saw nothing but raw lust and pure carnal pleasure. Just as she was about to give up, or rather give in, something stopped her. It was barely a flicker, but something was different... wrong even.

She pushed herself back from his chest, but the firm arm at her waist held her tightly against him.

"Really Noah?" she whispered, "That's the best you've got?"

A few moments passed, and suddenly he dropped his eyes from hers.

"Puck," he muttered.

Tilting her head, she asked "Excuse me?"

He cleared his throat and said again, "Puck. My name is Puck." His voice dropped again, "Only my mom calls me Noah."

"Well, _Noah_, I asked you a question. Is the best you have have to offer? Because this is a pretty lousy attempt at distraction." It took everything she had to say that with a straight face. It was actually a brilliant way to distract her, and if she wasn't careful, she still might fall for it. Really, his mouth was still so close to hers, and she was pretty sure if he let her go right now, she'd fall to the ground in a quivering mass of flesh.

He brought his eyes back up to meet hers, and with a sigh, he loosened his grip on her waist. He didn't let go completely, but she was able to push back from his chest and put a foot or so of distance between them.

"Sugar cookies and sex..." he murmured.

Rachel look puzzled.

He laughed, a soft smile on his face. "You smell like sugar cookies and sex."

"Well, I... umm..." she stammered, then laughed. "Thank you, I think?"

"You're welcome"

"You do know that phrase!" she said with an exaggerated gasp.

"Ha, Ha" he said, and nuzzled his face in her neck, breathing the scent of her in.

Oh goodness, oh god.... he was doing it again.

"Seriously Noah.." she said, pulling back even further.

"Puck."

"_Noah,_ why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Every time I even get close to a subject you don't like, you either stomp away or do this."

"And what is _this_?" he asked teasingly.

"_This_ is you trying to distract me or scare me away by trying to... to..."

"To what, Rach?" he said, reaching up to twirl a lock of her hair between his fingers.

"To seduce me. You're taking advantage of my raging hormones."

"Yeah, is it working?"

"Is what working?"

"Am I seducing you? Making your hormones rage?"

The look on his face made Rachel want to melt into his arms, but suddenly she heard Finn's voice echoing in her head. "He may be a good guitar player, but that doesn't make him a nice guy."

"And if I let you? What then?"

He let out a low throaty chuckle, "Do you want me to draw you a map?" The hand on her back slid lower, his fingers brushing the edge of her skirt.

Reaching down she pulled his hand away. "No, I mean _after _that. What happens then? Are you my boyfriend? Are we friends? Do you you still throw slushies on me?"

The smile faded from his face. "I don't know, I didn't think that far ahead. I didn't think it would get this far. I figured you'd run."

Her body stiffened, and her face went blank. She shook her head, "Wrong answer, Puck."

"PUCKERMAN!" Coach Tanaka's voice echoed down the hall, "Pre-game, locker room, NOW!"

"Yeah, I'm coming..." Puck answered, pulling away from her. "Look Rach..."

"NOW PUCKERMAN!"

He started jogging down the hall, turned halfway down the hall and looked back at her.

"Come to the game tonight... we can talk after." He didn't wait for her response and he turned the corner and sprinted toward the locker room.

**Author's note: Okay ladies and gents, that's it for tonight. If I write any more I'm going to need a cold shower before bed. :)**


	12. Mystery for the Ages

**Author's note: Yet again, I can't say thank you enough for all the encouragement. This is way better than writing H1N1 pandemic management proposals. Sorry for the late post, but not even my love of Puck and Rachel could keep me from celebrating the safe return of several good friends from Iraq. :)**

"Fuck, fuck, double fuck," Puck swore to himself as he pushed open the locker room door.

"Puckerman," Coach Tanaka said, "How nice of you to join us."

"Uh... yeah, sorry 'bout that coach."

Puck walked to the back of the room, plopped down on a bench and leaned his head back against the lockers. His heart was beating a hundred miles a minute, and not because he had run down the hall. He could still smell her. He could still feel the heat where that tiny little body had been pressed against his. Damn she'd felt good in his arms. He'd been so close to kissing her... What the fuck was wrong with him? Damn it, what was wrong with her? She was supposed to get mad. She should have slapped him and then lectured him with impossibly long words he'd never remember... Good god, he'd told her she _smelled _good.

Somewhere in a distant part of his his brain, he knew Coach was going over the game plan. Puck couldn't have cared less. "Wrong answer, Puck" she'd said. What did she mean by that? He was a little hazy on the details, as he had been been distracted by the fact that her hair was every bit as soft and silky as it looked, but he was pretty sure that if he had gotten the answer right he'd be looking forward to a little one-on-one post game celebration right now. Damn it... he'd been so close to figuring out what she wore under those ridiculously small pieces of material she called skirts.

He'd actually spent a great deal of time contemplating that lately. The Cheerio skirts were nice, but there was no mystery there. Even if they did bend over, all you got to see were those underwear-but-not-underwear things that looked like granny panties. What had Santana called them? Spankys or some shit like that.

But under Rachel's skirt? Now there was a mystery...

He was smack in the middle of picturing himself sliding a pair of white lacy thongs down her thighs when Finn's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Uh.. yeah... yeah man, I'm good, why?" Puck said quickly, struggling to clear the lingering image of her tan legs from his head.

"Um, cause you're sitting in an empty locker with a really weird smile on your face..." Finn gestured to the now empty space.

"Oh... yeah, no... I was just thinking..."

Finn looked at him oddly. "About what?"

Puck scrambled, trying to come up with something believable, "The.. uh.. the game tonight. I was just thinking about how we're going kick Central's ass."

"Okay..." Finn said dubiously, "... except we played Central two weeks ago, we're playing Roosevelt tonight."

"Right, man, Roosevelt... that's what I meant." Suddenly Puck remembered that he was still pissed at Finn.

Finn must have seen the anger in his face, because he rushed to speak before Puck could say anything. "Look, I just came to say I was sorry."

Puck sat there glaring at him.

"I was out of line this morning, and I'm really sorry," looking down at his feet, Finn continued sheepishly, "you were right about Rachel and Quinn, I can't have them both."

Puck remained silent.

"Rachel told me the same thing, she told me I needed to stay with Quinn... that Quinn and the baby need me."

Puck's insides lurched. "She did?"

"Yeah. She also told me I was an ass for not believing you about the whole music thing."

"She called you an _ass_?" Puck snorted.

"Well, no... she didn't say ass exactly, but well... you know how she talks."

Puck smiled on the inside, and he must have smiled a little on the outside too, because Finn's facial expression changed drastically.

"Do you like her?"

This was dangerous territory, Puck knew. "She's cool I guess."

"Cool?" Finn asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, like I said this morning, she knows a lot about music and shit." Puck said, hoping to god he sounded sincere.

Finn started to say something, and then paused. After a long moment of silence, he spoke carefully. "She's really special, Puck. Just... be careful with her. She's not as tough as she acts."

Puck just shrugged, "It's not like that man, we're barely even friends." Well, at least that much was true, they weren't exactly friends.

Finn look at him warily, and shook his head. "Whatever you say dude."


	13. The Little Pink Box

She absolutely was not going to meet him after the football game. Absolutely not.

Maybe she did take a shower, and set her hair in the big rollers that she knew would make it fall in big, soft, loose curls, she was planning on recording some new MySpace videos tonight. And, okay, maybe she did spend almost 45 minutes on her make-up, but she'd been trying out a new eyeliner technique.

She absolutely was not going to meet him after the game.

So what if she had every practically every piece of clothing she owned strewn about her room. She was only trying them on so she could decide what to donate to charity. Charity was really important to her. Yes, she did have on the matching lace bra and underwear set her cousin Emily had talked her into buying from Victoria's Secret last summer, but only because she'd found them in the back of her drawer with the tags still on them. It was wasteful to let things go unused.

She absolutely was not going to meet him after the game.

The low rise jeans she wore made her butt look fabulous but they were also extremely comfortable. That was a good reason reason to wear them, right? The short sleeve pink cashmere sweater she had on was a little lower cut than her usual style, and maybe a little snugger, but it matched her pink and white houndstooth coat perfectly, and she might need to run to the store or something later.

She absolutely was not going to meet him after the game.

She may have put on a tad more perfume than she normally wore, but what if she ran into anyone at the store? That also explained the earrings, the bracelet, and the short strand of pearls she put on.

If she clicked open the tiny box on her nightstand and carefully counted the number of pills left against the X marks on her calendar... well that's because... yeah, even she couldn't rationalize that one in her head. Better to be safe than sorry.

Looking down at her watch, she realized the game had started over an hour ago. With a deep sigh of resignation, she stood up, grabbed her purse and went to let her dads know where she was going.

Damn it... she was going to meet him after the game.


	14. My Heart Will Go On

He'd been scanning the bleachers all night, but she wasn't there. He knew he hadn't said the right thing but he'd still been hoping she'd show, if only just to yell at him.

When the buzzer sounded at the ended of the first quarter, he convinced himself she was just running late.

When she wasn't there by the start of half-time, he thought maybe she didn't realize what time the game started. He considered trying to text her from the field house, but realized that he still didn't have her number.

She wasn't there at the start of the third quarter, and he started to accept the fact that he'd blown it. Damn it... he'd been honest with her at least. He could have lied to her, and told her what she wanted to hear. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd done something like that, that's for sure. But he hadn't lied, and he'd asked her to come tonight. That should count for something, right?

In an effort to take his mind off her, Puck threw himself into the game. He didn't think he'd ever hit so hard in his life. The game started to come to life, and by the end of the third quarter they were tied 7-7. He purposely kept his back to the bleachers and focused on winning.

He was pumped now and his attitude was infectious. With only two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the score was still tied, and the opposing team was 4th and 10 and attempting a field goal. When the football fell yards short of the goalposts the sidelines went wild. Puck turned to high five a teammate and caught a glimpse of pink in the crowd. His heart flipped in his chest as he looked closer. She was there. Hers eyes met his and she waved at him, smiling. Unfortunately, one of the other guys saw it too and immediately started in on him. "Aww... look Puck, your Glee Freak fan club is here for you..."

"OFFENSE!" Coach Tanaka yelled, and with one last look at her Puck turned , crammed his helmet on his head and ran on the field.

"Blue 33, hut, hut"

The center snapped the ball and he ran right and spotted a gaping hole in the defense. He saw that Finn had spotted had spotted it too and he ran toward the end zone. He saw the perfect spiral coming toward him, and caught it just as his foot crossed the goal line. Holding the ball high in the air, he turned toward the home crowd and looked to where she had been sitting. No pink. She was gone.

The rest of the game passed in a blur. Kurt scored the extra point, and their defense held. They won 14-7. He lingered on the field, as people rushed down to congratulate them, but she wasn't there either. He tried to be excited as they rushed jubilantly back to the field house, but all he could think about was why he hadn't waved back at her. He was a fucking idiot.

He didn't hear a word of the post game, and rushed to change the minute Coach was done.

"Party at my house!" one of the other players called out.

A couple guys asked him if he was going and he just nodded. What the fuck, might as well get drunk. It's not like he could feel any worse.

He grabbed his bag, and started walking toward his truck. Seriously, he was a fucking idiot. He reached for his phone, and realized for the third time today that he didn't have her number. He considered asking Finn for it, but he'd give Puck a ton of shit, and even then might not hand the number over.

Just then he spotted Kurt. The light bulb in his head went on as he ran to catch up with him. "Hummel!" he called out, "Wait up!"

Kurt turned and looked around nervously. He spotted Puck running towards him, and his eyes darted frantically from side to side, as if he were trying which direction to run.

"Hey Hummel, wait up, I need a favor," he said as he jogged closer to him.

Kurt straightened, and tilted his head up slightly. "Oh really?"

"Yes, really" Puck said, annoyed.

"What is it that I can do for you today?"

"Really? Who talks like that?"

With an indigent "Hmph" Kurt started to turn back in the direction of his Navigator.

"Hey, look man, sorry..." Had he just _apologized_? "Look, it's easy, I just need to know if you've got Rachel Berry's number?"

"You want _Rachel Berry's_ number?" Kurt gasped.

"Yeah," Puck said uncomfortably, "It's... it's about a Glee thing. I forgot to tell her something."`

"What Glee thing?"

"It's.. uh... nothing... nothing important... look dude, are you going to give me the number or not?" Puck demanded.

"Hmm... that depends." Kurt replied, tapping a finger to his chin.

"On what?" Puck was reaching his limit here.

"On you." Kurt brushed his hair into place and continued, "I want an assurance that I will **never **be tossed in the dumpster again, as long as you go to this school."

"Fine. Whatever. Now hand it over."

"And..." Kurt went on.

"Don't push it"

"Hmph." Kurt whipped out his cell phone and called the numbers out to Puck. Typing them in quickly, Puck snapped the phone shut and stalked off.

He got about 10 feet before he turned back and called out. "Hey Hummel"

Kurt froze and turned to look at him.

"Good game man," Puck said grudgingly.

"T-t-thanks," and after a slight pause, "You too."

Puck nodded and walked off. What the hell? Fucking bizarro universe, had to be.

Flipping open the phone, he hit the call button and kept walking to his truck. Suddenly he heard that stupid song from Titanic, "My heart" something or other in the distance. Looking up he saw a flash of pink leaning against his truck.

Seriously? He felt a smile creep onto his face. That was her ring tone? They really needed to work on her choice of music....

She flipped her phone open just as he flipped his closed. He was grinning the time he walked up to her. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get the words out, he slid his hand behind her neck and pull his lips to hers.

He kissed her softly at first, dropping his bag, he slid his other arm around her waist and pulled her body against his. The kiss deepened and he slid his hand into her hair. Time was frozen and nothing existed at that moment except for her. God, she even tasted like sugar cookies and sex. She slid her arms up around his neck and pulled his mouth closer to hers. Teasing her lips with his tongue, she parted them slightly... and then fully. He was complete lost in her. He wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted... minutes?... hours?... but eventually they pulled apart and he stared down at her smiling. She lowered her arms so that her hands were resting on his chest and looked up at him.

That was when she pushed herself back and slapped him. Hard.


	15. So Nice, I Wrote it Twice

**Author's Note: If anyone asks, I totally did not write this at work. I couldn't help it. I was dying to seeing to see where it was going to go. Crazy, right? It's my story, you would think I'd know what was going to happen next. I had no idea when I started writing this that it would take me 14 chapters just to get to the first kiss. Thanks again for the continued support. **

Rachel's dads had been surprised and then pleased when she'd told them she was going to the football game. They'd even offered to let her drive herself. She'd declined, and they had protested, expressing their concern about her walking home alone so late at night. She assured them a friend would drive her home, and promised to call for a ride if anything changed.

She had her hand on the front door handle when she thought of the little pink box. She walked back into living and took a breath to steady herself.

"Tina Cheng mentioned she be might having a sleepover tonight. Would it be alright if I went?"

The delight on their faces made her cringe inside. "Of course, of course," they'd chorused. She knew they worried about her seeming lack of friends, and she hated lying to them.

She hurried outside into the cool night air and walked quickly down the street. Her mind was racing, trying to decide if she was making the right decision. Initially she been hurt by his response to her question, but after considerable reflection she realized he had actually been completely honest with her. No doubt he could have lied, she was sure that he'd done it before when sex was on the line. But he'd answered her honestly, and that had to count for something, right? He'd asked her to come to his game, and to meet him after. That seemed significant given their history.

She didn't have unrealistic expectations. She knew he wasn't going to fall in love with her, and they weren't going to live happily ever after. She was however, fairly confident that they could become friends, and friends were nice, right?

It had taken her almost an hour to recover from their encounter, and still, if she closed her eyes, she could feel where his body had touched hers. It made her lightheaded. Hormones, she told herself, this was all just a chemical reaction gone madly astray. She worried that if she didn't do something about this, she'd spend the rest of her life unable to concentrate on anything but that moment.

She had to get him out of her system. She accepted the fact that she wanted what he was offering her. She was a practical woman, and she knew that sex wasn't always about love. He was experienced, obviously. She believed what he'd said to her earlier that morning. "You wouldn't know what hit you, but you'd love every minute of it." Yes, she was quite certain she would.

He was cocky, true, but she'd seen that he had a kinder side, small as it may be. He'd be gentle with her, she reasoned, though she had no specific evidence to justify that conclusion.

She wanted to be friends with him. She wanted to help him see what an amazing talent he had. That would never happen unless she could look to him without wanting to rip his clothes off. It had to be done.

Turning at the road to the school, she crossed the street and pushed the door open to the convenience store they had stopped at last night. She quickly scanned the patrons in the brightly lit shop, and was relieved not to see anyone she knew. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and walked up to the middle aged woman at the counter.

"I'd like a box of condoms, please," she said in the most adult voice she could muster.

The sales clerk didn't even look up at her. "What kind?"

Rachel flinched. There were options? Why didn't they tell her that in Sex Education?

"What do you recommend?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound foolish.

The lady paused, and peered over the top of her bifocals at Rachel. She could feel her cheeks burning red with embarrassment. Without saying a word, the clerk plucked a box off the wall behind her and placed it on the counter.

"That'll be $3.49."

Rachel plucked the necessary bills out of her wallet and laid them on the counter. The woman gave her the appropriate change, and slid the box into a small brown paper bag. Rachel carefully tucked the bag into her coat pocket and turned to exit the store. Once outside, she had a brief moment of panic. What was she doing? This was crazy. She took several deep, cleansing breaths and tried to settle herself. "Relax," she thought, "you haven't made the actual decision yet, you're just being responsible." What was that thing the boy scouts said? Be prepared.

She could see the stadium lights from here, and she heard the roar of the crowd. She slowly walked the last three blocks to the school. A wave of nerves hit her as she neared the admission booth. Pausing several yards, she sat on a bench and opened her purse. She pulled out the neatly folded Wikipedia article on American Football that she printed out before she left home. Reading carefully through the pages, she realized that this was a complicated sport, but she thought she had the basics down. Tucking the pages back into her bag, she stood and continued to the gate. She purchased her ticket, and walked inside the stadium, surprised by how many people seemed to be there. She eyed the scoreboard and saw that she had arrived with four minutes left in the third quarter and the score was tied 7-7.

Looking up at the bleachers, she froze in alarm. Where was she supposed to sit? Everyone was there with friends or family, and they were packed tightly onto the narrow metal rows. Scanning the crowd, she spotted three girls she had met during her brief stint with "Cabaret" roughly half way up the stands and off to the right. She was fairly certain they were freshman. She climbed the stairs and walked towards them. With a bright, albeit fake, smile, she asked if she could sit with them. They stopped talking and stared at her. One of the girls finally muttered, "Sure" and they slid closer together so that she could sit on the end. Once she was settled, the girls quickly turned back to whispered and talking amongst themselves, ignoring Rachel completely.

She barely noticed. She watched the field in amazement. She quickly picked out both Finn and Puck on the sidelines. Finn was easy to spot due to his height, and Puck… well it wasn't hard to catch a glimpse of the Mohawk, she thought, smiling to herself. She'd never really paid attention to football before, but after spending several moments enjoying the sight of both boys in those tight pants, she thought maybe she'd been missing out.

The game was fascinating. She knew Finn was the quarterback, and she quickly determined that Puck was an offensive player as well. The descriptions of positions she had read earlier were slightly confusing, but she thought maybe Puck was a running back. When they took the field together, she was struck by their differences. Finn was tall and agile, and he possessed a certain grace that he certainly didn't display while dancing.

Puck however, while not short, was obviously not as tall as Finn but slightly more muscular. He was fast and fierce. She watched him block players that obviously outweighed him by a significant amount. He didn't give an inch as the crashed into him. When he ran, he was amazing. He cut and turned so quickly that she had trouble following him. He flung players off his back as they tried to bring him to the ground. She was enthralled.

The game went by quickly, and she watched with relief as the opposing team missed their field goal attempt. She glanced at the sideline and saw that Puck had turned toward her for the first time since she'd arrived. Her heart flipped when she realized he'd spotted her. She smiled and waved excitedly.

Next to her, the freshmen girls were whispering furiously.

"Puck…"

"Finn…"

"Parking lot… fighting about her"

She knew he had seen her. His teammate had spotted her as well, and she watched him say something and punch Puck in the arm. She waited for what seemed like an eternity. Nothing. With one last look at her he slammed his helmet on his head and ran onto the field.

The girls were silent for a moment, obviously watching Rachel for a reaction.

She was stunned. She felt has though someone had kicked her in the stomach. She was an idiot. What had she been thinking? Reality crashed down on her, and she realized that whatever had happened earlier that day was a fluke. She'd been a fool to think they could ever be friends. Guys like Puck were jerks, and you couldn't change that. They were on very different levels in the hierarchy that defined the high school social status, and they always would be. Why had he asked here? No matter what happened between them, it would never be enough for him to risk his precious reputation by even acknowledging her outside of Glee.

"Guess not…"

"Stupid anyway, he's way too hot…"

"Who is she kidding, he'd never…"

She jumped out of her seat and ran down the bleachers. She heard the crowd cheer loudly just as she descended the final stair. Looking up she saw him in the end zone clutching the ball, and watched him raise it high in the air. Looking down at the ground she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill forth. Unbeknownst to her, had she watched him a split second longer she would have seen him look for her in the crowd.

She had meant to go home. She didn't want to see him, didn't want to let him know she'd cried over him too. But then the tears turned to rage. Who did he think he was, anyway? Sure, he was a big fish in a little pond, but high school would end and she'd get out of this town. He might have talent, but he didn't have the guts to anything about it. He'd end up like most guys in this town, stuck working some menial job, and spending his free time trying to recapture the glory days of his youth. He'd be a Lima Loser.

She contemplated waiting down by the field house, but she was scared he'd just ignore her and she'd lose the courage to tell him exactly what she thought of him. So she found his truck, tucked in a back corner of the student parking lot. Leaning against it, she waited in the shadows. It seemed like forever, but she spent the time formulating her speech in her head.

Suddenly her purse vibrated, and she heard the muffled strains of Celine Dion. Thrusting her hand in the bag she extracted her phone and almost had a heart attack when she saw his name flashing on the screen. She had, of course, diligently entered all of the numbers on the phone roster Mr. Schuester had provided them earlier in the week. Angrily she flipped the phone open, ready to give him a piece of her mind, but the line was dead.

Fuming she shoved the small pink rectangle back her purse and when she looked up, he was walking toward her with a dopey grin on his face. God, she wanted to hit him. She opened her mouth, prepared to deliver the discourse she'd worked so hard on, when all of the sudden, the world screeched to a halt.

Her brain felt like cotton candy and she slowly became aware that his lips were pressed softly against hers. His hand burned on her neck, and she felt the arm slide around her waist and pull her smoothly forward. Every nerve in her body was on fire as she melted into him. Instinctively, she slid her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth closer as his lips moved against hers with increasing urgency. She could think of nothing else. Who was she kidding? She couldn't even think. She could feel the warmth ooze through her body, and she sensed a smoldering inferno building inside her. His tongue gently touched her lips, teasing them open. She parted them ever so slightly, and she knew she was done for. Up until that moment, she'd thought Finn's kiss had been monumental, but she realized now that if that kiss was monumental, this one was earth shattering. She let go of everything, and he consumed her. She couldn't tell anymore where she stopped and he began. Time lost all meaning, and she was vaguely surprised to see it was still dark outside when they slowly broke apart.

Warning bells were going off in her head as the evening's events flooded back to her. Slowly she slid her hands down and pressed them against his chest as rage seeped into every pore. She forced herself to look at him as she shoved herself backwards. Without even thinking she pulled her arm back. As her hand was flying through air, she saw the look in his eyes and the smile on his face, but it was too late. She slapped him. Hard.


	16. Chivalry Doesn't Suit Him

"I hate you, Noah Puckerman," she'd hissed at him.

The anger in her voice made him flinch. He knew he deserved it though. The slap had taken him by surprise. How could such a tiny creature create that much force? He'd taken closed fist punches that had hurt less. He knew he should apologize to her, but he sucked with words and he knew he'd fuck it up. She was staring at him, fury blazing in her eyes. He was actually kind of scared of her. Turned on by it too, but he was a teenage guy and hell, just about everything turned him on, so he wasn't too bothered by it.

He really should apologize. She was going to lecture him, he could see it coming. He hated her lectures. "Ah, fuck it." he thought. He yanked her back and kissed her again.

She struggled in his arms for a brief moment, and then went limp as his mouth devoured hers. He didn't start slowly this time, and it took her a second to catch up, but when she did... Holy shit. She pressed herself against him so tightly that he had to turn them both so the truck was behind him to avoid falling over. She was going to kill him if she kept this up, but at least he'd die a happy man.

Damn it. He had to stop this. He was dangerously close to a Cinco de Mayo episode of epic proportions. What the hell? He hadn't had that happen to him since he was 13. He pictured his mom walking in on him shortly after he'd discovered the joys of Rosie Palm and her five sisters. Yup, that did the trick. Peeling her off him, he ended the kiss.

Her eyes were glazed over and she was breathing heavily. He know he only had a few seconds to come up with something good, or she'd go back to being furious.

"Wanna go to a party?"

"Huh? What? Party? What party?"

He almost laughed. It amused him to know that he'd kissed her senseless. He was_ so _the man.

"A party, you know, like with people, and music, and beer." He wondered briefly if she'd ever even been to a party before. Probably not. "It's a football thing." He saw her falter. She knew she was supposed to be mad.

"You want to take me to party? A party for the football team? With other football players there?" she asked, her voiced laced with disbelief.

"Sure. Why not?" He was a genius. A fucking genius.

She eyed him warily. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. I, Noah Puckerman," he said gesturing to himself, "would like to take you, Rachel Berry to a party." He reached his hand out, offering it to her. She looked like her head was going to explode she was thinking so hard.

Tentatively, she placed her hand in his. "Okay."

Grabbing his bag, he threw it in the bed of the truck. He picked her purse up off the bumper and handed it to her, and walked her around to the passenger side door. Unlocking it, he opened it and helped her in. He waited until she put her seat belt on and leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips. He could tell she was still confused by the turn of events.

Walking around to the driver's side door, he congratulated himself on his quick thinking. He'd safely sidestepped a huge argument with her. All he had to do was take her to the party. The party that everybody who was anybody at McKinley High would be at. Fuck. He was an idiot.

As he climbed into the truck he tried to convince himself that this was going to be okay. He was a stud. He could wear a dress to school and people would think it was cool. Of course wearing a dress to school would quite possibly create less of a scandal than his showing up to a party with Rachel was going to.

Turning the truck on, he glanced at the clock on the dash and saw that it was almost eleven PM. A surge of hope rushed through him. "Do you have a curfew?"

He hoped she did. He hoped it was 11:15.

"No" she responded casually, "I told my dads I was staying at Tina's tonight."

His heart sank. Then he realized what she had said. Rachel Berry had lied to her parents? What had she been planning on doing that required her to stay out all night? The realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

Fuck it, he'd figure out a way to pull this off. It'd be worth it to figure out just what the hell what she wore under those skirts.


	17. Dissociative Identity Disorder

**Author's note: I reworked Chapter 15 slightly, so check it out before you read this. There was something about it that bugging me, and thanks to some great feedback (Thanks In the name of Savage Poets!) I feel a little better about it. **

Rachel stared out the window as Puck backed out of the dark corner of the student parking lot. How had she gotten herself into this mess? It was almost eleven o'clock on a Friday night and she was strapped into Noah Puckerman's truck, on her way to a party for the football team. Even she, the consummate optimist, knew this had disaster written all over it.

Turning her head she studied his profile, illuminated by the green glow of the dashboard lights. She considered the possibility that she may have overreacted to his actions, or rather, lack there of, during the game. After all, he had kissed her... twice. In public, no less. Okay, so maybe a dimly lit corner of a nearly empty parking lot wasn't exactly public, but still, it wasn't exactly private either.

Then again, maybe she'd been right to be upset. Eight hours ago he'd barely acknowledged her presence in front of his teammates, and now he was taking her to a party? Things like that only happened in the movies. There was a catch, there had to be. Either that or he had some kind of multiple personality disorder.

"What?"

She realized she'd been staring at him. "Nothing," she said, "just contemplating the state of your mental health."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

With a sigh, she leaned her head back against the seat. It occurred to her that she wouldn't be half as nervous if it were Finn sitting next to her. He was so sweet and thoughtful. He'd realize that while she could stand on a stage and sing in front of hundreds of people, the idea of going to a party with the so-called McKinley elite terrified her. They'd be laughing over some stupid joke he'd told her, just to keep her mind off her nerves.

She sighed again, Puck was definitely no Finn.

Stopping at a red light, Puck leaned over and cupped her chin with his hand. Turning her face, he caught her mouth in his, sending shivers down her spine.

The car behind them honked to indicate the light had changed, and he pulled away from her. She was glad she was sitting down, because she was fairly certain the lazy smile on his face would have knocked her off feet.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked suddenly.

"Doing what?"

"Taking me to a party. You'll have to agree it's an unlikely turn of events given our previous history of animosity towards one another."

He laughed. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" she replied, puzzled.

"Use ten times more words than you need to."

"Because being articulate is a sign of intelligence. Why do you always try and change the subject when I ask you question that requires an honest response?"

"I do that?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"Yes, you do. You still haven't answered my question."

"What question?"

"Arrgh, you are impossible. Why are you taking me to the party?"

"Why not?"

"Noah Puckerman, that is not an answer."

"It isn't?" he said, pulling the truck over behind a long line of cars parked on the side of a neighborhood street and putting it in park.

Turning toward her, he grinned wickedly.

"Don't even think about kissing me. That's not going to work this..."

She sighed as he leaned into her and stopped her mid sentence, he was doing it again, and he still hadn't answered her.


	18. Normal People Words

Why was he taking her? That was a good question, one Puck had been thinking about for most of the twenty minute drive. Okay, maybe half the drive. The other half had been spent trying to figure out why she'd lied to her parents about staying at Tina's.

Puck knew he could have talked her out of going. He could tell by the way she was wringing her hands in her lap and biting her lower lip that she was terrified. Not that he could really blame her. He knew he'd take a ton of shit for this, but he'd recover. Rachel, on the other hand, well... As much as he hated to admit it, maybe Finn was right. Maybe she wasn't as tough as she acted. He had no doubt that she was fearless when it came to performing, but she was clueless when it came to dealing with people her own age.

Breaking free from the kiss, he shifted back into his seat and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Turning back towards her, he started to tell her that they could go someplace else if she wanted, but she had already unlatched the seat belt and her hand was on the door. She had her chin held high and a look of determination on her face. It looked like she was going to an execution rather than a party, but it made him smile in appreciation. The girl had some balls, that was for sure.

By the time he walked around to the passenger side, she had removed her coat and folded it neatly on the seat. She fished her pink cell phone out of her tiny pink purse. She carefully zipped the bag closed, and tucked it under the seat. Sliding the phone into the pocket of her jeans, she turned and looked up at him.

"I look okay, right? Of course, I always take a great deal of care with my appearance, but what I'm asking is, am I appropriately dressed for the occasion?"

He couldn't help but laugh again. "Try it again, Rach, with normal people words."

A smile teased the corner of her lips. "Do I look okay?"

Glancing down at her he realized that other than the fact that they were pink (big surprise) he really hadn't noticed the clothes she hadon. He took his time, letting his eyes slide over her from head to toe.

The tight pink sweater looked soft and fuzzy, and showed off every curve. The V neck was cut lower than anything he had ever seen her wear, and he spent a brief moment wondering if there was some sort of miracle bra thing going on there, because he'd never really noticed her boobs before. He wasn't complaining though, they looked fantastic.

His gaze dipped lower and he admired the low slung jeans that hugged her lower body. He found that even the sight of her ass in pants made him want to know what she had on under them.

She actually looked... normal. More than normal actually, she looked fucking hot. She still had a few Berry touches, like the pearls around her neck, but instead of making her look like a stuck-up priss, it was just... Puck couldn't quite put his finger on the word.

His mother's voice popped into his head."Class, Noah, you should look for a girl with some class."

That was it, she looked classy. And smoking hot.

He realized she was staring at him, waiting for him to answer.

"You look great, Rach."

She smiled brightly, the relief evident on her face. "Thanks Noah." she said shyly.

He winced. "Um, yeah... look, I don't mind if you call me Noah, really it's cool. But around these guys..."

Her face fell. "Oh I see."

"No, look it's not you. It's just that I beat up the last kid who tried to call me that. Not even Finn calls me Noah. Only my mom does. People just might think it was weird."

She nodded her understanding, but her face didn't quite recover.

"Look, Rach, you don't have to do this you know, we could go somewhere else..."

Her posture changed, and she thrust her chin up again. "What?" she asked, her eyes blazing, "are you embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"No... that's not it, I was just trying to..." See? This is why he never tried to be the nice guy. He always fucked it up.

"Trying to what? Weasel your way out of this?"

Weasel his way out? It had been his fucking idea! And he knew, deep down, she really didn't want to go. Looking down at the tiny force of nature standing in front of him with her arms crossed, he threw his hands up in surrender. He couldn't win this one. Throwing an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her down the sidewalk.

"Why would I be embarrassed? You're going to be the hottest girl there, and you'll be with me. Now, c'mon." Damn he was smooth.


	19. on the outside, looking in

Quinn had been tired and cranky after the game. She didn't even seem happy they'd won, she just demanded Dairy Queen. As Finn placed the order for the blizzards, he wondered briefly if the baby could taste the difference between Cookies n' Cream and Rocky Road yet. He'd have to look it up. Quinn had scarfed down her ice cream, and promptly fallen asleep in his car. He had taken his time eating (he hated that whole ice cream headache thing) and then drove her home.

Finn was physically exhausted, but the last thing he wanted to do was go home. He knew his mother expected him to be out late. In a small town like Lima, the after party was almost as important as the game, and being the quarterback, his attendance was practically mandatory. If he went home early, his mother would start to worry, and more than anything, Finn hated for his mom to worry about him.

He thought about calling Rachel, and his mood brightened as he picked up the phone. The time on the small screen read 10:40, and he tried to decide if it was too late to call her. The moment of hesitation was all it took for her words to echo in his head.

"You can't give me what I want."

The memory popped his small bubble of happiness instantly. He knew she right, he couldn't be the guy she wanted, not with everything that had happened.

It seemed like he couldn't do anything right lately. Quinn spent all of her time crying or throwing up, Coach yelled at him for falling asleep at practice, and his grades were definitely slipping. Rachel had even pointed out what a lousy best friend he was.

Yeah,Puck got on his nerves sometimes, but when push came to shove, he'd always been there for Finn. They'd done pretty much everything together since they were kids. How come he never noticed that Puck was a talented guitar player? Sure, he'd heard him play before. Hell, back in junior high they'd even tossed around the idea of starting a band.

"Chicks dig guys in bands," Puck had said.

Finn smiled as the image of a 13 year old Puck flashed in his head. Even back then he'd been all about the girls. They'd quickly dropped the band idea, when they realized they didn't know anyone who played bass, and as it turned out, girls liked football players too and they were already on the middle school team.

The idea of Puck and Rachel being friends bugged him, but he knew there wasn't much he could do about it. They had both stuck to the music story, but he suspected there was more to it than that. He knew Rachel was a smart girl, she knew more words than any person he'd ever met. The problem was that Finn had seen the effect Puck had on girls. Even older chicks got a little crazy when he started putting the moves on him. He really didn't want to see Rachel become a notch on the bedpost.

That's what had prompted the argument in the parking lot this morning. Finn _cared _about Rachel, while Puck generally only cared about getting laid. He hadn't meant to call Puck a loser, not that he'd used those words exactly, but he knew how Puck had taken them. Finn had been so angry, and yeah, a little jealous, that he hadn't bother to correct Puck assumptions.

Finn knew better than anyone that Puck's biggest fear was ending up like his father.

Another image of Puck flashed through his head, this time they were 10 and his best friend was crawling through his window late at night, his face bruised and his clothes torn. Finn hadn't even had to ask, he just threw him the extra pillow and blanket from the end of his bed, and watched as Puck bunked down on the floor. He'd be gone before Finn woke up.

Pulling out of Quinn's driveway, he made up his mind. He couldn't do anything about Rachel, but he could at least try and fix things with Puck.

Fifteen minutes later, standing in the crowded living room, Finn wondered why he had even bothered. Puck hadn't shown up yet, and it had been over an hour since the game ended. More than likely he ended up hitting on someone's mom in the stadium parking lot, and decided to "clean her pool" instead. He was just about to say his goodbyes, when he heard a low murmur start to run through the clusters of teenagers scattered around the room.

"Oh my god..."

"What's he doing..."

"That has to be a joke..."

Curious, Finn looked at the entryway to see the source of the excitement. He spotted the distinctive stripe of brown hair, and worried for a second that Puck had actually brought someone's mother to the party. When his best friend turned and he caught a glimpse of who Puck had his arm wrapped around, Finn's heart sank to the floor.

**Author's Note: I apologize if this is a little rough. I like Finn, but his voice doesn't speak to me nearly as well as some of the other characters.**


	20. Train Wreck

The heavy weight of Puck's muscular arm around her shoulders took the edge off of Rachel's nerves. She was loathe to admit, even to herself, that the boy definitely had some smooth moves. Of course, that what was worried her the most about him.

With Finn it was easy, he didn't really have moves. She felt comfortable being herself around him, and he was so easy to talk to. On second thought, she realized that he hadn't had the most honorable of intentions when he fooled her with the running lines in low lighting bit, but when she had confronted him about it, at least he had been honest with her. She knew where she stood with Finn, even though she wasn't happy about it.

Puck, on the other hand, made her dizzy with his contradictions. Every time she felt like she had a handle on their situation, he did something to catch her off guard. Rachel hated the way he constantly kept her off balance, but at the same it thrilled her. Finn made her happy, Puck made her feel alive.

Halfway down the block, she spotted their destination. The large two story house was brightly lit, and she could hear music pouring from the windows. There were a few people standing on the wide porch, but she didn't know their names. Her stomach felt as though it were practicing a Cheerios routine, and she slowed her pace.

Puck noticed her hesitation, pulled her closer to him and bent his mouth to her ear.

"It'll be fine, Rach, just don't let'em see you sweat."

His smooth silky voice made her tingle, but she detected the slight catch in his delivery, and wondered if that statement had been as much for his benefit as hers. It amazed her that he might be nervous too.

"You ready?" he asked quietly.

She gulped, and nodded her head.

Turning down the immaculately landscaped front walk, he steered her gently up the front steps.

He nodded a greeting at the teenagers on the porch, and she tried hard to ignore the curious stares they were directing her way. Puck pulled the heavy storm door open and guided her from behind over the threshold. The were only a few feet into the house when Rachel heard the low buzzing sound of whispered conversation start.

She had to force herself not to shrink back against Puck when she spotted Brittany and Santana eyeing her. While Brittany merely looked curious, Santana's perfect face was contorted in an unflattering scowl.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Puck said, his voice full of cocky confidence.

It was silent for a moment, and Rachel could see that the five or so people standing in the wide foyer were struggling to figure out whether or not to ask him what the hell she was doing there.

Matt Rutherford broke the awkward tension.

"Hey Puck," he replied casually, and then with a small smile in her direction,"Hey Rachel."

She could have kissed Matt right then and there. His friendly acknowledgment of her, while seemingly innocuous, let the others know that questioning Puck about her presence was unacceptable. She relaxed slightly, and gave him a thankful smile. "Hey Matt, great game tonight."

Puck squeezed her shoulder, as if to say "Good job," and launched himself into a conversation about the game with Matt and the other two players who stood nearby. Rachel listened halfheartedly and let her eyes wander around her surroundings. There were about thirty or forty people standing in the visible rooms, and she could hear voices from the areas beyond. Most were members of the football team, the Cheerios and their respective boyfriends and girlfriends. She knew some of them by name, others she merely recognized the faces of.

It took her a few moments to spot Finn, which seemed surprising given his height. He was standing motionless at the far end of the large living room, staring at them. A small blonde was eagerly talking to him, gesturing animatedly and she hadn't seemed to notice that he wasn't hearing a word he she said. Rachel scanned the crowd hurriedly for Quinn, but the McKinley High princess was nowhere in sight. She returned her gaze to Finn, and felt a stab of guilt over the look of hurt and rejection on his face.

Glancing up at Puck, she noted that he was busy recounting his earlier touchdown, and wasn't yet aware of his best friend's presence at the party. Rachel briefly considered pointing Finn out, but she was hesitant to speak. When Finn started walking towards them, she poked Puck in the side. He stopped midsentence, and looked down at her with a mixture of irritation and concern. Rachel gestured in the direction of the approaching Finn.

Awkward silence fell over the small group again, and the tension in the air grew thick. She knew they were all on the edge of their seats, waiting to see the drama unfold.

Rachel felt Puck slide his arm down her back and wrap it around her waist. He pulled her tightly against his hard body, in a gesture that was both possessive and protective. Although Rachel knew she was maintaining the appearance of control, on the inside she quivering like a bowl of freshly shaken Jell-O. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut, and disappear but she was frozen in place.

It was like watching two trains headed for a collision, you knew there was going to be a fiery crash, but you can't look away


	21. A bitter pill to swallow

Puck was impressed. Rachel was smiling and appeared relaxed. She wasn't putting off the creepy intense diva vibe that most people were used to, and he thought to himself that they just might pull this off. Matt's intervention had been a lifesaver and Puck made a mental note to cover his share the next time they all put for beer money.

They'd started talking about football, and he knew Rachel had missed Matt's subtle head nod, guy sign language for "Nice going, she's hot". As long as she didn't do anything crazy, she might fool everyone into thinking she was normal. If that were the case, not only would they survive the night, Puck would be a legend.

She'd be the classic teen movie "pony tail and glasses" girl and he'd be the stud who discovered her. He tried not to think about the fact that if this were an actual movie, Finn would probably be the good guy who noticed her first, and he'd be the asshole best friend. In the movies, the chick always ends up with the good guy.

Puck noticed Santana staring at Rachel with a mixture of envy and rage and he made it a point to tickle Rachel's arm slightly so that she smiled up at him. He looked back at Santana with a smirk on his face. She spun on her heel in fury and stomped off towards the kitchen.

He was halfway through his excruciatingly detailed account of his touchdown catch, when Rachel poked him hard in the side. Irritated by the interruption, he looked down at her. Immediately, the look on her face turned his irritation into concern. Puck could tell she been upset by something. Had she seen what he'd done to Santana? Rachel gestured towards the living room and he spotted the source of her panic. Finn was walking towards them, alone and with a murderous look on his face.

Slowly people stopped talking, and a hush fell over the party. Damned rubberneckers, he thought. People just loved to watch a good fight. He dropped his arm to Rachel's waist and hauled her against him. The message the move sent was crystal clear, "She's mine, stay away."

He could feel the muscles in his jaw twitch as Finn drew closer, and his free hand clenched into a fist. He angled his body so that he was firmly in between Rachel and Finn. Puck looked back at Matt, and glanced towards the door. Matt inclined his head slightly, assuring him that she'd be taken care of if things got ugly.

Puck, yet again, admired Rachel's courage. She was still standing tall, as tall as a munchkin could anyway, next to but sightly behind him. If she was worried now, her face didn't show it. He smiled inwardly. She was on his side, and he wanted to keep her there.

"Sup dude." he said nonchalantly as Finn closed in on him. He felt dozens of pairs on him, waiting for the dam to burst.

Finn stopped less than two feet from them and said nothing. He just stared at Puck coldly.

"Where's Quinn?" Puck asked, as if this were a casual conversation between buds.

No answer, just an ice cold glare. He could see Finn's fists were reflexively clenching and unclenching, and he pulled Rachel further behind him, anticipating a fight. She reached up and grasped his arm, and out of the corner of his eye he could see the look of horror on her face.

"Noah please..." she whispered, "don't."

Finn's eyes darted from Puck's face to Rachel's and back. He hadn't been close enough to hear what she said, but Puck knew he understood what she was asking. They stared at each other for a long, tense minute, and the Finn's anger seemed deflate. He pushed past them, and exited the house without saying a word.

Staring at his best friend's back, Puck pulled Rachel back to his side. He looked down at her, expecting to see relief in her face. Instead, she gave him an apologetic look, and looked to the door. Puck knew what was coming and he stiffened in anger. He felt her pulling away from his grasp as she stepped towards the door. She gave him one last look of regret, and bolted after Finn.

Puck was frozen in stunned disbelief. She'd left him alone, standing there, staring after her like an idiot. Saint Finn wins again, he thought with a bitter laugh.


	22. Hippo Situations

"Finn, wait up!" Rachel called out.

He was already half way down the street by the time she took off after him, and his long legs were increasing the distance between them quickly.

"Finn..." she called again, breaking out into a jog. "Please..."

He stopped, but didn't turn around. By the time Rachel reached him she was breathing heavily.

"Finn... please... I... we need to talk about this," she panted.

"About what Rachel? What is there to talk about?" he responded, his back still to her. His voice sounded thick and it was laced with anger.

"Finn..." she said, reaching out to touch his arm, "I'm..."

"You're what Rachel? You're sorry? Save it," he said forcefully, spinning around to face her. His eyes were wide and shiny with the threat of tears.

She jerked her hand back as if she'd been stung.

"I am sorry that you're hurting Finn," she said, struggling to keep her voice even. She saw the spark of hope in eyes, and knew this was going to be painful, "but I'm not going to apologize for being here with Puck."

The thought of Puck made her cringe. The look on his face when she left had been lethal. She hoped she'd be able to make him understand why she'd done it.

"Then why are you out here with me? If he's the one you want, why did you come after me?" he said, stepping towards her and taking her hand.

With a sigh, Rachel pulled her hand away and wandered over to the bench swing in a nearby yard. She was suddenly exhausted, and she plopped down on the wide seat. Staring at her feet, she pushed back slightly with her toes and the swing rocked gently back and forth.

Finn walked over and hesitantly sat down next to her, folding his hands in his lap.

"Just tell me why, Rach," he said softly.

"Because I don't want to hurt you, I care about you..." she replied.

"What if I wasn't with Quinn? What then?"

"It doesn't matter Finn, because you are with Quinn."

"But if I wasn't, you know, hippo... hippo... what's the word?"

"Hypothetically," she said with a small smile.

"Yeah, hypothetically, if there was no baby, no Quinn, what then?"

She could lie to him, she thought. It would be easier that way. There was a Quinn, and a baby, so she didn't need to hurt him by telling him the truth. She looked up, meeting his eyes, but she couldn't make herself say the words.

He studied her carefully, searching her face for the answer. When his shoulders slumped, she knew he understood.

"You really like him, huh?"

She nodded.

"Wow." he said, leaning back with a look of shock on his face. "I honestly didn't see that one coming."

"Me either," she replied, laughing with relief.

"And Puck? How does he feel?"

She shrughed, "I'm not sure."

Finn looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think he feels the same way."

"Huh? You think he's not sure about me?"

"No," he replied, with an odd smile. "I think he really likes you. He may not realize it, but I think he does."

"Oh?" she said hopefully.

"Yeah..."

They talked for a few more minutes, and then Finn walked back towards the party. Pausing one house away, he wrapped her in his arms and gave her a hug.

"Go on now," he said to her when he let her go.

"You aren't coming?"

He shook his head.

Walking up the front path, she looked back at him and gave him a radiant smile.

"Thanks Finn, for everything." Without waiting for a reply she bounced up the stairs, and into the house.

Finn stood staring for a few minutes, not trusting himself to move. It took everything he had not to run after her. He hated Puck at that moment. Finn had always been the good guy, so how had his best friend, the asshole, ended up with the one girl he really wanted?


	23. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough

Puck watched the storm door slam shut behind her. He was completely numb. His heart didn't hurt, in fact, he couldn't even feel it beating. The world was silent and still, as if time had stopped the minute she was gone.

She'd left him. She'd left him alone and gone after Finn. The look on her face, the regret... she'd known what she doing, and she did it anyway. He wanted to run after her, but what was the point? It was obvious she cared about Finn, at least more than the cared about him.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and suddenly the room was full of movement and noise. People were still staring, but there was no one in the entryway, save Matt.

"Dude, Puck, are you okay?" Matt asked worriedly.

Puck glanced around, everyone was waiting for his answer. He could hear the murmurs. The fragmented words filled his head.

"Rachel Berry..."

"...left him standing there..."

"...how humiliating."

She's made a fool out of him. He'd be a laughingstock.

"...what a _loser..."_

He set his jaw and turned. "I'm good, man."

Matt looked unconvinced.

"C'mon man," Puck said, "We're talking about Rachel Berry here, it's no loss. I was just trying to figure out what the hell she had on under those skirts."

Looking around, he spotted the blonde freshman who had been talking to Finn earlier. When she saw he was looking at her, she perked up immediately and looked at him adoringly.

"Look, it's all good man, trust me, I'll be just fine."

With that he walked over to the blonde and flashed a smile. Putting his arm around her he guided her into the kitchen. He could feel Matt's eyes following him, and he hoped his friend had bought it.

Once in the kitchen, Puck grabbed a beer out of the ice chest that was sitting on the floor. Popping the top, he drained half the can in one swig. The blonde looked at him expectantly, and he just tipped the beer can back to his mouth. With a huff, she reached down and got her own can.

"Can you open this for me?" She asked, batting her eyes.

"Nope." Puck said, continuing to drink.

Annoyed, she carefully popped the can open, and took a tiny sip.

She eyed him carefully and apparently decided that his looks out weighed his rudeness. She tried again.

"So... I'm Amber... what's your name?" she giggled.

"You know exactly who I am."

"Puck, right?" she said.

"The one and only..."

"I've heard stories about you..." she said coyly, "are you as bad as they say you are?"

"Worse." Puck replied drolly.

She gave him what Puck assumed was supposed to be a seductive smile, and continued. He nodded here and there, and gave the occasional grunt but he wasn't hearing anything she said.

All he could think about was Rachel. He grabbed another beer, and let his thoughts wander. Seventy two hours ago he didn't give a damn about

Rachel Berry. She was loud, bossy and obnoxious and his greatest pleasure in the morning was dousing her with slushie. It was stupid to be upset over her, it wasn't possible for him to actually have feelings for a girl who he had hated three days ago.

He realized none of that made that sense. He couldn't not give a damn about her and hate her at the same time. And she had most certainly managed to crawl under his skin in three days. He thought back to the way she'd smiled when he told her to use normal people words. It had been adorable. He was also enthralled by the way she managed to call him on his bullshit. The only woman who had ever done that to him before was his mother.

He really had thought she liked him. The real him... Noah Puckerman, not just Puck. Obviously not, he thought. Anger started to overtake him as he thought about how she'd humiliated him. People were calling him a loser thanks to her.

Looking down at the ditzy blonde who kept on talking despite his obvious lack of interest, he was disgusted by her. What was wrong with her, didn't she have any self respect? Up until recently, he had found that quality to be handy in a girl, but now it made him think of Rachel and how she stuck her chin up in the air when she was trying to be tough.

He reached for another beer, and realized he had to drive home still. Glancing at... what was her name? Anne.... Amy.... ah fuck it he didn't care, he shook his head, and pushed himself away from the counter.

"Where you going?" she giggled in a tipsy voice.

Puck glanced and the barely half empty beer in her hand, and knew it was still her first.

"Bathroom."

"Need help?"

Good god, he wasn't even trying. What was wrong with these girls?

"No." he said harshly, and walked away.

He headed down the hallway, looking for the closest bathroom. He found it tucked into a corner, next to the study. After taking care of business, he washed his hands and splashed cold water on his face. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he carefully examined his face. He was a good looking guy, he knew that. So whatever it was that was wrong had to be on the inside.

He exited the small powder room and immediately ran into Santana. He could tell she'd been drinking, and he knew from experience that she was a mean drunk. He tried to brush past her, but she grabbed his hands and swung him around, pulling him through the open door to the study.

"Don't you miss me Puck?" she purred. "I miss you..."

"No, Santana, let go of me..."

"But Puuuck..." she whined, "I miss you."

"Too bad, Santana, that was over a while ago. That was your choice,"

She threw her arms around his neck and narrowed her eyes. "What? Am I not good enough for you?"

He tried to peel her off. "Santana, come on..."

Her eyes narrowed further and she looked over his shoulder. Before he could turn around to see what she'd been looking, she leaned forward and devoured his mouth.

She took him by surprise, and when he tried to pull away, she held on tightly.

Suddenly, she pushed him away and slapped him.

"Damn you Puck, leave me alone." she yelled and stomped past him out into the hall.

Standing in the empty study, holding his hand to his stinging cheek, he thought this might be a new record for him.


	24. Do you have an above ground pool?

**Author's note: I don't know why I have such love for Matt, considering he's never had a line, but I do. I kinda like Brittany too, after she was dancing with Kurt and Tina in "Preggars" so this is kinda my homage to them**.

Matt stared worriedly at Puck's back as he walked away with the small blonde girl. He seriously hoped his friend wasn't going to do anything stupid. It was definitely weird seeing Puck so shaken up, but then again he'd been acting strangely for the past few weeks.

Matt had been shocked when Puck had asked him to join Glee. Okay, so maybe asked wasn't the right word, Puck had pretty told Mike and him that they were going to join. But Matt hadn't really minded, he knew it meant getting to spend more time with Brittany. When Santana and Puck had been together, the four of them hung out all the time, and most of the time Quinn and Finn had joined in.

Things had started going downhill fast when Finn joined Glee. Quinn didn't like the idea of being alone, and had placed increasing pressure on Santana and Brittany to spend "girl time" with her. Quinn was the Queen Bee, and if Quinn wasn't happy, apparently no one else could be either. Britt had told him all about how Quinn had suddenly decided that Santana shouldn't be with Puck anymore, and within days they had split. He lived in fear of Quinn deciding he wasn't worthy.

Matt looked back at Britt, sitting alone on the staircase, and wished that she wasn't such a follower. She was a sweet girl, with a good heart but he hated the way she acted around the other Cheerios. He suspected Puck knew how he felt about her, and that was why he picked him.

At first Matt had thought Puck was joining to get Santana back, (though he couldn't see why, the girl was a Class A bitch) but he never even payed attention to her in rehearsal. Puck would never admit it, but Matt knew he actually enjoyed the whole singing thing. Of course the April chick had been an enticing bonus, though he still couldn't believe he had let Puck talk him into the shower thing.

He glanced quickly at Britt, God he hoped she never found out about that.

Puck acted like a dick most of the time, but Matt knew he was actually a pretty good guy. His reaction to Rachel in the hallway had surprised Matt. In Puck's own retarded way, he was actually trying to be nice to her, without losing face in front of the guys. He wasn't quite so sure what Puck was worried about, Rachel Berry was actually pretty cute, and yeah she was annoying, but people had already started to accept the idea that Finn liked her, before the whole pregnancy thing. Yeah, Puck would've taken some shit if he had gone after her, but after a week or two, people would have found something else to talk about.

He walked over and sat next to Brittany on the stairs.

"Is he okay?" Brittany asked.

"I dunno," Matt replied.

"What was he thinking bringing that freak here?" she asked, "Puck is way too good for her."

Matt turned toward her. "Santana's not around, Britt, you don't have to be such a bitch," he chastised, "Rachel's not bad. A little weird but not bad, and Puck's no freaking angel. He could do worse."

"Oh, really? How?"

"Well, for starters, he could date Santana again." he snapped.

Brittany glared at him, and he sighed. Santana and Quinn were a major sore spot for them.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Eventually she leaned into him, and he put his arm around her. He started to apologize to her when Santana came around the corner. She'd obviously been drinking, and he knew she got meaner with every beer.

"Where's Puck?" she asked.

Brittany gestured toward the kitchen.

"And the Glee freak?"

Brittany gestured outside.

Matt wondered if it was worth the argument to point out that they were all Glee freaks now. He decided to keep his mouth shut, and hoped she'd go away quickly.

"Who the hell does that Berry chick think she is anyway?" Santana demanded. "First she goes after Quinn's man, now she's going after mine."

"Uh, yeah, Puck's not your man anymore, in case you forgot," Matt pointed out.

"He would be if I wanted him to," she said haughtily.

"Doubtful," Matt muttered under his breath.

Santana glared at him.

"Come on Brittany, let's go," Santana said.

Brittany looked at him, torn between obeying her friend and staying with him. Matt really hated Santana.

"I'll go," he said, as he stood up and walked toward the living room.

He could hear Santana talking as he walked away.

"Honestly, Britt, I don't know what you see in that loser."

With Quinn pregnant, the top dog spot was coming open soon, and he knew Santana wanted it badly. She knew that she needed Puck back to secure the position, and Britt had told him earlier that Santana had planned on "doing whatever it took" to get Puck tonight. He suspected that she hadn't been pleased when Puck showed up with Rachel on his arm. Keeping Rachel around would keep Santana in check, so he planned to do everything in his power to make that happen.

Matt sat in the living room, watching the two girls. They had spotted something outside the storm doors, and Santana was whispering furiously in Britt's ear. He saw Santana walk off just before Rachel entered the house. He started to get up, but he was ambushed by the small blonde girl that Puck had been talking to.

"Your friend is an asshole," the girl whined.

"Yeah, he is," Matt agreed quickly, trying to push past her. He could see Rachel and Britt talking in the entryway.

The little blonde stepped in front of him again, demanding his attention. "What's wrong with him?" she demanded.

Matt was annoyed now, they had walked off and he couldn't see them anymore. Turning toward the girl, he asked. "Does your mom look anything like you?"

"Well, yeah..." the girl replied, puzzled.

"Do you have an above ground pool?"

"Yes, but what's that got to do..."

Matt cut her off, "Then Puck's probably fucked your mother. You should go home and ask her about it."

He left her standing there, her mouth open in shock, and got to the staircase just in time to see Rachel running out the door again, and Brittany standing there looking triumphant. He turned to see Santana strutting down the hall, casually reapplying her lip gloss. He glared at her as she laughed and turned into the kitchen and he looked back at Britt.

"Where's Puck?" he asked angrily. Britt gestured down the hallway toward the door Santana had walked out of. Her face had gone from triumphant to something resembling shame.

"What have you done, Britt?" he asked, the disappointment evident in his tone.

"Nothing, it was Santana's idea," she mumbled, looking down at her feet.

He sighed again, he was torn between chasing after Rachel or finding Puck and telling him what happened.

He grabbed gently Brittany by the arms. "Look at me Britt," he said softly, and waited until she raised her eyes to his, "go find Rachel, and bring her back. Tell her what you did."

Brittany looked horrified, "Matt I can't... Santana...."

"Santana doesn't own you Britt. Please?" he asked, turning on his most charming smile, "For me?"

She grudgingly agreed. Before he could walk away, she said, "She really likes him, you know..."

"Who?"

"Puck," Brittany said, "She told me that's why she left, to tell Finn that she liked Puck."

Matt was surprised Rachel had confided anything in Brittany. Shaking his head in amazement, Matt stalked off towards the study to find Puck.


	25. Singing in the Rain

Rachel sat on the front porch of the house, staring out at the light drizzle that had started minutes ago. She had no idea what to do, and nowhere to go. Tears stung her eyes and she willed herself not to cry. She couldn't believe that she had misjudged Puck so badly.

Rachel had known he would be upset with her for going after Finn, but she had thought that he would understand once she explained herself. She had prepared herself for his anger, and for the inevitable argument. She had even planned on using some of his "distraction" techniques if it came to that. Finding him in a dark room kissing Santana Lopez was something she had not been prepared for.

The front door creaked open, and Rachel looked up quickly, trying to adopt a casual pose. She saw Brittany standing there, looking at her with concern.

"Rachel?"

Of the three Cheerios in Glee, Rachel liked Brittany the best. Or maybe disliked her the least, Rachel wasn't sure which was a more apt description. She was a good singer and an amazing dancer. On the rare occasion that she was without Quinn and Santana, she had actually been nice to Rachel.

When Rachel had walked back into the party after talking to Finn she had been relieved to she Brittany standing alone in the entryway. Brittany had asked her if she was okay, and had listened when Rachel had babbled on about why she had run after Finn. Rachel still wasn't sure why she had told her, but it had felt good to confide in someone.

Brittany had assured her that Puck would understand and had pointed out the door to the room she had seen him go into. She walked with Rachel down the hall, and Rachel had been glad for the support. When they got to the end of the hall, she looked into the dimly lit room. She could see the stripe of Puck's Mohawk, and the long tan arms wrapped around his neck. A flash of red and white caught her eye as the two bodies moved together, and Rachel realized two things simultaneously. First that Puck was kissing someone else, and second, that someone else was his ex girlfriend, Santana Lopez.

That had been the final straw. Rachel didn't have in her to confront them both. Not with everything else that had happened tonight. She had pushed past Brittany, and ran down the hall and out the door. Once outside in the nippy air, she noticed the light drizzle that had started to fall. Her coat and purse were in Puck's truck, but her cell was in her pocket. She couldn't call her dads, not after having lied to them, but she could call Finn. She had pulled the little pink rectangle out of her pocket and almost threw it across the porch when she realized the battery was dead.

"Rachel?" Brittany called again, "Are you okay?"

Rachel didn't answer, she had no idea what to say.

"Look," Brittany continued, "I just want to say I was sorry, and to tell you that..."

Before Brittany could finish, Santana slammed the door open.

"Brittany!" Santana said, the warning in her voice crystal clear. "What are you doing?"

Brittany looked terrified, her eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she flicked her gaze between Rachel and Santana.

"N..n..Nothing."

That was all it took. Rachel felt something inside her snap, as she stood up and squared her shoulders.

"Is there a problem Santana? Brittany and I were just having a discussion," she said cooly.

Santana's eyes narrowed. "Is that so? What about?"

"I'm fairly certain that's none of your business, Santana. Now if you'll excuse us?"

Brittany's mouth gaped open.

Santana glared at Rachel, and stood her ground.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said, "Did I stutter?"

"The only one around here who needs to leave is you," Santana hissed, "can't you see that? You don't belong here."

Rachel stiffened, and then she smiled. "Really Santana? Do I threaten you that much? You really should work on improving your self esteem. I think one of my Dad's might have some audio tapes that could help with you with. Would you like me to bring them in for you on Monday?"

Santana looked stunned. Grabbing Brittany's arm, she yanked her back in the house, but not before Rachel saw the look of awe on Brittany's face.

Rachel waited until they were gone and then carefully walked down the stairs into the cold wet night. She made it to sidewalk before the tears started streaming down her face. She had no idea how far away home was, or in which direction, so she just started walking.

Anything to get away from that stupid party.


	26. Swine Flu

Puck was sitting on the floor of the study laughing so hard he couldn't catch his breath. Matt was leaning up against the desk, gingerly touching his cheekbone and nose.

"You think I'm going to end with a black eye? My mom'll kill me if she thinks I was fighting." Matt said.

Puck looked over at his friend and winced.

"Ah, shit man, I'm sorry..." Puck said sincerely.

"Nah, it's cool. I'll just tell her we were messing around and you elbowed me."

Puck really hadn't meant to punch Matt. He'd still been standing in the study, in shock after Santana's little performance when Matt had walked in. He'd told Puck the whole story, starting with Rachel coming back.

"She came back?"

"Yeah man, she told Britt that she went to tell Finn that she liked you."

Puck hadn't said anything for a minute. Matt could tell that he was trying to decide if he believed it.

"Dude," Matt said, "The girl is nuts about you. It was written all over her face earlier. Trust me, she never looked at Finn like that."

Puck had nodded slowly and then asked where she was.

"Well," Matt said hesitantly, "that's where the bad news comes in."

Matt explained Santana's like scheme, and how Rachel had witnessed it.

Puck's face had contorted in anger. First he had demanded to know where Santana was, and Matt reminded him that hitting girls, even girls like Santana, wasn't cool.

Then Puck had demanded to know where Rachel was. When Matt explained that he had sent Brittany after her, Puck moved beyond anger to blind rage.

"Why didn't you go after her? Brittany is just like Santana, she's not going to care if she hurts her."

Puck's insult of Brittany had set Matt off and before he knew what he was doing, he tackled Puck to the ground. They each got a few good blows in before they were interrupted by the small blonde girl in the doorway. She was screeching Puck's name.

Matt had looked up in surprise, just as Puck's fist connected with his face. The young girl looked surprised, and then she laid into Puck.

"Did you have sex with my mom?" she yelled.

Puck looked so taken aback that Matt burst into laughter and fell over.

"It's not funny!" she exclaimed, and whirling on Puck she asked again, "Did you?"

Puck had regained his composure, and eyed the girl carefully.

"It's possible," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. Flipping it open, he looked up at the girl, "What's her name?"

"Arggh... You are a PIG!"

Flashing a grin, Puck replied cheerfully, "Guilty."

The little girl turned bright red and stomped out the room.

Puck turned to Matt, "Know anything about that?"

Matt laughed and described his earlier interaction with the girl.

They were both still sitting down when Santana and Brittany walked into the room. Brittany's were glazed over and she was stumbling as Santana yanked her by the arm. Santana on the other hand, was furious. Her eyes were blazing and she was practically spitting venom when she spoke to Puck.

"Let's go, NOW!"

Puck looked up at her coldly.

"Go where?"

"Anywhere but here. Come on Puck, we're leaving." She reached down to grab his arm.

Puck snatched his arm back and glared at her.

"Don't touch me Santana," he said menacingly, "Get it through your head, there is no 'we' and there never will be."

"Oh really? You might want to think that through, Puck."

"I have, Santana, and I'm sure. Now get out."

She faltered for a moment and then turned to Brittany. "Let's go Britt."

Brittany stared at her, and then she smiled. "No"

"Excuse me?"

"Did I stutter?" Brittany said, in a perfect imitation of Rachel's voice. "I said no. I'm staying here."

Santana looked momentarily lost, the opened her mouth as if to speak. When no words came out, she turned and ran out of the room.

Matt jumped up and hugged Brittany tightly. She was laughing with relief.

"Oh Matt, you should have seen the way Rachel shut Santana down. It was awesome."

At the mention of Rachel's name, Puck looked around.

"Where is she?"

Brittany blinked, and looked confused for a moment. "Oh... I... oh crap... I left her on the porch, Santana grabbed..."

She didn't even finish the sentence before Puck bolted from the room to find her.


	27. That Victoria Chick is a genius

**Author's Note: Wow... I'm in awe of the response this story has gotten. Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. **

**A couple of people asked why the last chapter was called Swine Flu... I write on a couple of different computers, so if I need to got back and reread something I've written, I have to use the site to do it. I gave the chapters names yesterday because it makes it easier for me to keep track of what happened, when, and to find what I'm looking for quickly. Most of the names are pretty much lame exercises in word association, but hey it works for me. :) So in Ch 26 the blonde calls Puck a pig... and lately, thanks to work, every time I think of a pig, I think of "swine flu". **

**Told ya... lame. Sorry for the confusion. :)**

**BTW- If you still haven't read "Conversations between two McKinley High Students" by Glow, stop here and go read it first. It's amazing. Freaking amazing. Plus the chapter titles aren't lame like mine. **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own any of these peeps.**

Rachel was mentally making a list all of the negative consequences she was likely to suffer due the decisions she had made tonight. One...When, and if, she ever got home, she would likely be grounded for an indeterminate period of time. Two... Standing out in the cold and rainy weather greatly increased her chances of getting sick, which would adversely affect her ability to sing. Three... This in turn, put the Glee club in a precarious position at sectionals. Without her, their chances of winning were minimal. Four... When word of the evening's events got out at school, the level of harassment she experienced on a daily basis was going to increase exponentially.

She decided not to add the fact that she had ruined any chance with Puck, because that would imply that there had actually been a chance in this first place.

Rachel had managed to walk two blocks before the drizzle had turned into a downpour. She was soaked to the bone when she spotted the large oak tree in the front yard of a nearby house. Upon further inspection, she found a spot of dry ground next to the wide trunk and sat down. She leaned her back against the solid tree, brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms them. After resting her forehead on the wet denim, a wave of exhaustion consumed her.

It was several minutes before she realized that stopping had been a bad idea. The combination of cold air and wet clothes was bad enough, but at least when she was walking, the physical exertion had generated body heat. Once she sat down, the cold seeped through every inch of her body until she was shivering uncontrollably. She knew she should get up and return to the party. It would be humiliating, yes, but it had to be better than dying of hypothermia.

The image of Puck kissing Santana flashed through her head. On second thought, perhaps freezing to death wasn't so bad.

Rachel willed her limbs to move, but they seemed to have a mind of their own. She couldn't stop the violent shakes that were tearing through her body, and for the first time in her life, she was completely and totally at a loss for what to do.

She was unsure of how long she had been sitting there. Five minutes? Ten minutes? A half hour? She struggled to keep her mind clear, but a lacy haze was creeping over her.

She thought she was dreaming when she heard Puck calling her name.

"Rachel?"

She smiled inwardly, she liked it when he called her Rachel. She liked it when he did a lot of things... like touch her, or kiss her...

"Rachel!"

Her mind wandered, and she thought about how warm his body was when it was pressed up against hers... and how his kisses made it feel like molten lava was running through her veins. She felt like she was floating now. She could no longer feel the rough bark on her back, or the hard ground underneath her... Just strong arms... Strong arms? Were did that come from?

"Jesus Rach... c'mon, you're scaring me."

With a start, her eyes flew open and she realized that Puck was carrying her through the rain.

"P...put me d...down!" she croaked, struggling against him weakly.

"Not likely," he muttered. "Stay still."

Another round of shivers racked her body, and instinctively she tried to snuggle closer to his warm body.

Puck groaned. "God, Rach... please stop that."

There was the sound of car door opening, and he plopped her down into the warm dry truck.

She watched out of the corner of her eye as he climbed in the driver's side and pulled the door shut behind him. Reaching behind the seat, he pulled out a gym bag and set it between them. He dug through the bag and extracted several items of clothing. Without any warning, he stripped his wet shirt off. Rachel tried not to stare as he pulled a dry T-shirt over his head, but the brief glimpse of his bare chest sent a shiver through her that she knew had nothing to do with being cold.

Puck grabbed a red McKinley sweatshirt and held it out to her.

"Your turn," he said with a wicked grin.

Rachel looked at the sweatshirt longingly. Her soft pink cashmere sweater had turned into a cold itchy mess, but the idea of taking it off in front of Puck was less than appealing. The interior lights were off, but the streetlights cast a warm glow of illumination throughout the inside of the truck.

"N..no thanks," she replied, her teeth chattering.

His face softened, "C'mon Rach, you're soaked. You'll never get warm with those wet clothes on."

She raised an eyebrow warily.

He raised his free hand in a gesture of surrender and he smiled.

"I admit, it's a good line, but I'm serious. No funny business. I won't even look."

She felt another round of shivers hit her, this time from the cold, and she decided she was being ridiculous.

"F..fine, but n..no peeking."

"Scout's Honor" he said, in mock seriousness.

He set the sweatshirt down next to her and turned his head.

She tried to pull the sweater off, but her fingers were numb from the cold, and she couldn't get a grip on the bottom edge. After several minutes of fumbling and botched attempts, she gave up. Puck turned, and before she could protest, he smoothly grasped the hem of the wet, soggy material and peeled it up and then over her head.

Horrified she wrapped her arms around herself quickly, but the look on his face told her she hadn't been quick enough. He sat there, staring down at her with a look that made her stomach flutter. She couldn't reach for the sweatshirt without dropping at least one arm, and he didn't seem inclined to help her out.

"S..shirt?"

"Huh?" he said, not moving is eyes.

"T..the sweatshirt p..please? I'm f..f..freezing."

"Oh, yeah, right..." he said, with a quick shake of his head. "Sorry."

He grabbed the sweatshirt and yanked it over her head. She slid her arms into the sleeves, and he tugged it the rest of the way down. The sweatshirt was his obviously, and she was swimming in it. Looking down at her, he laughed and grabbed a sleeve cuff and rolled it up, and then repeated the action on the other side.

Rachel snuggled into the soft warm material, and tried not to notice that it smelled like Puck. She flinched when he leaned into her, and slid a hand behind her neck, but he merely lifted up and pulled her long wet hair out of the sweatshirt.

Within minutes she had warmed up considerably. As the shivers and chattering teeth abated, her anger slowly returned.

"Well then... Thank you very much for finding me. I appreciate everything you've done. I realize that you've already gone above and beyond the call of duty, but if it's not too much trouble, could you please drop me off at my house?" she asked, her voice cold and distant.

"Huh? You want to go home?"

"Well, I certainly don't want to take up any more of your evening. I imagine Santana is anxiously awaiting your return."

"What? Why would Santana be.."

"Don't," she said forcefully, holding up her hand. "Don't insult my intelligence. I'm well aware of what happened after I left earlier, and I would prefer not to hear any lies or excuses. If you'll just drop me off, we can pretend like this whole night never happened. Monday morning you can go back to dousing me with slushies."

"Rach..." he said pleadingly.

"Don't 'Rach' me," she snapped.

"Rachel, listen to me..."

"I already said I don't want to hear it."

"STOP! Stop interrupting me," he said, his voice almost a shout.

She was stunned.

"Look, I know what you think you saw, but if you'd be quiet long enough, I could explain to you just how wrong you are."

"I told you," she said through gritted teeth, "that I don't want your excuses."

"Fine Rachel, have it your way," he said sharply, "but I promise you, when you figure out what actually happened, you're going be to kicking yourself in the ass."

She hesitated... she could feel her convictions wavering. Maybe... But then the image flashed again through her mind, long arms wrapped around his neck, the glimpse of a red and white skirt...

"I _saw_ you Puck, I saw you kissing her. _That's_ what actually happened."

Puck was silent for a moment.

"You ran off, you left me. Left me for Finn." he said.

"What," she spat, "Is that supposed to be an excuse?"

Puck shrugged."No, but it happened."

"I know what you think but it's not how it looked..." she said.

"I _saw _you Rachel. I was there. You left me and ran after Finn."

"But..." she started.

"But what Rach? There's more to the story? It wasn't what it looked like?" he asked.

"Exactly!," she said with exasperation. Then her face fell as the realization hit her."Oh...."

"Exactly."

Rachel slumped back in the seat. She couldn't believe that Noah Puckerman had just outsmarted her.


	28. My, you have an impressive vocabulary

Rachel Berry was a royal pain in his ass. Even after he had stunned her by turning her smarty pants logic around on her, it had still taken twenty minutes and two phone calls to Brittany to convince her that he hadn't willingly kissed Santana. Now, after grudgingly admitting he hadn't done anything wrong, she was still sitting there with a pouty look on her face and her arms crossed across her chest.

"That still doesn't change anything, Noah," she said.

"What the hell do you want from me?" he asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I want you to admit that this whole thing is a preposterous notion," she said in frustration.

He didn't even know what preposterous meant, or notion for that matter. Why couldn't she just talk like a 16 year old?

"What thing?"

"This!" she said, motioning her hand between them, "Us. The idea that we could ever be attracted to one another. Things like this don't work, not outside of Hollywood anyway."

"Huh," he said, looking her up and down, "never would have pegged you for a coward, Berry."

"What is that supposed to mean? Are you implying that I'm displaying a lack of courage by not engaging in a fruitless course of action? That is _not _cowardice! It's simply having a realistic view on the limitations of the high school social strata."

Puck sighed and wondered if she had one of those "Word-a-Day" calendars his mom had bought him last Christmas. He bet she did, and he would put money on the fact that hers wasn't still on January first like his was.

"What did you say to Finn?" he asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

Puck loved the look on her face when he caught her off guard.

"Finn," he said slowly, "What did you say to him?"

"Stop trying to change the subject!"

Puck knew if he waited long enough, she'd answer. Rachel Berry did not handle silence well. She stared at him expectantly, but he held his ground.

"It's none of your business what we discussed," she said tersely.

He waited patiently, maintaining his silence.

"Fine," she said, "we talked about our relationship with one another. Specifically, I wanted to clarify the nature of our relationship."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And did you?"

"Did I what?" she asked.

"Nice try Rach, but that's my move."

She glared at him. The annoyance of being called on her avoidance tactic was written all over her face.

"We, that is Finn and I, came to the mutual agreement that it was in our best interest to maintain a purely platonic relationship."

Puck raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"We decided just to be friends," she said curtly.

"We?" he asked doubtfully.

"Okay, fine, you win. I decided."

"Why?"

"Why what? Why did I decide that?"

He nodded. "Three days ago you were blubbering like a baby over him. Why just friends? What happened?"

Brittany had told Puck about her conversation with Rachel when she came back to the party. He knew what Rachel had told Finn, he just wanted to make her say it.

Rachel slumped lower in her seat. The red sweatshirt was ten times too big for her small frame, but Puck thought she looked adorable. The idea of her wearing his clothes gave him a strange thrill. Of course, he thought, it would be even better if she didn't have anything on at all.

His intentions had, surprisingly, been entirely honorable when he had offered to let her change. She had been shaking so hard, and her lips had been a freaky bluish-gray color that scared him. Puck wasn't a saint though, he'd been lying when he said he wouldn't look. Nobody had that much will power, he reasoned. Even when he turned his head, he could see her reflection in the driver's side window. He hadn't exactly been thinking clearly when he turned around and pulled the wet pink mess off of her. When he got a glimpse of the white lace bra with little pink ribbons woven throughout it, Puck hadn't been able to think at all.

Whoever sat around and invented those things was a genius, he decided. The sight of her tan skin against the white lace combined with the string of white pearls nestled in between her breasts had made his heart stop. It's not like he hadn't seen a girl in a bra before, or a girl out of a bra for that matter, he had. Plenty of times. But for some reason, when he had looked down at her earlier, it had been just as thrilling as being under the middle school bleachers when he was 13 and getting Tricia Johnson to take her shirt off for the first time.

He had initially intended to offer her the black mesh shorts he had pulled out his practice bag, but since he didn't want to risk becoming a drooling idiot, he dismissed the idea. Still though, he wondered if her panties were all lace and ribbon too...

"You," she said softly, breaking into his daydream.

He smiled at her.

"Oh really? Me?"

"Yes, you. There are you happy now?"

He put a finger to his chin, as if carefully considering her statement.

"Hmm..."

"Cut it out, Noah," she said, feeling the blush creep into her cheeks.

"So you told him you liked me?"

She glared at him. "I just said that, didn't I"

"Yes," he agreed happily, "you did. So then what's this crap about the stratosphere?"

"Social strata..." she said, trying to quell her laughter.

"Yeah... that crap. If you like me, what has that got to with anything?"

She sighed. "It means that even if I like you, the pressures exerted by our peers to conform to our accepted social roles would serve to make a romantic relationship between us highly improbable, if not down right impossible."

"Besides," she added, averting her eyes, "none of that even matters if the feelings I have for you aren't reciprocated.

His face grew tight as he struggled to figure out what the hell all that meant.

"Are you _trying_ to make me feel stupid? English please..."

She paused, and then looked back at him nervously.

"No, I'm sorry..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean..."

"Then what did you mean?" he asked.

"I...I was trying to ask..." she stuttered, her voice catching on the words. She looked momentarily lost and she squeezed her eyes shut. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her shoulders back, and stared him straight in the eye.

"I'm trying to ask you if you like me too," she said firmly.

Puck opened his mouth, but the words were stuck in his throat. He could tell by the look on her face that he was screwing this up royally. His mind raced, searching for the right answer. Fuck it, he thought angrily, go with what you know.

Reaching over, he ran his fingers over her soft cheek. He slid across the cab, sweeping the bag to the floor in the process, until they were inches apart, and wrapped his other hand in her wet hair. Gently, he pulled her mouth to his, and kissed her softly. When he felt her respond he pulled away slightly, and raised his lips to her forehead. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her tightly, resting his chin on the crown of her head.

"Is that a yes?" she said, her voice muffled by his shoulder.

Puck laughed, and pulled back so he could see her face.

"What do you think?"


	29. Your place, or mine?

**Author's Note: I can't say thank you enough for the positive reviews.**

**Pixie - I promise, I haven't forgotten about the baby. :)  
**

**Nova802- Stay tuned, you little mind reader, you :)**

Rachel's heart skipped a beat, or maybe twenty, as she looked up at him. She briefly considered pinching herself to make sure that she hadn't imagined any of this. Hadn't she read somewhere that hypothermia could cause delusions? When his lips touched hers again, and the molten lava started flowing, she knew that it was real. Even her fantasies couldn't compete with the way she felt right now.

She let herself indulge in the moment, and explored the new-found sensations that coursed through her. It defied the laws of physics, she knew, but it felt like his lips had managed to reach every part of her body. Every one of her cells was humming a perfectly pitched note of intense pleasure.

From the dark recesses of her mind, the annoying voice of logic and reason crept slowly forward. Rachel tried to ignore it, focusing instead on the smoldering inferno in her core, but it refused to be deterred.

"Great," it said to her, "he admitted he likes you. Now what? Nothing's changed, this still won't work. "

Rachel pushed hard and managed to relegate the voice back to it's dark corner. Turning her attention once more to the luxurious kiss, she realized sadly that the moment was gone. With a sigh she pulled away and looked up at Puck. His hooded eyes were bright with passion, and his lazy smile made her heart backflip in her chest.

She smiled as he dropped his head and starting kissing down her neck, and she ran her fingers through his thick brown stripe of hair. It was still slightly damp, and she teased it into a peak like she seen him do when he bored. She felt him tug at the bottom of the sweatshirt and she let out a small gasp when she felt his rough hand slide over the smooth skin of her belly. She heard him groan slightly in response and suddenly he jerked away from her.

"W..what's wrong?" she asked, confused by the turn of events.

"Nothing!" he said sharply. His eyes were closed tightly and a look of pain flashed across his face. He took a deep breath and looked down her, his face softening slightly.

"Nothing," he said, giving her a quick peck on the lips, "It's just getting late. Do you want me to take you home?"

The last thing she wanted right now was to leave him.

"Do you wantto take me home?"

"Hell no, I want to..." he said quickly, then stopped himself short.

She laughed and briefly considered asking him what he wanted to do, but she was afraid that just his description of it would be more than she could handle.

"Right," he said, "So... am I taking you home then?"

Rachel glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost one AM. Her heart sank. Looking down at her bedraggled appearance, she knew there was no way to avoid getting in trouble if she went home now.

"Well, I can't exactly..." she said, trying to figure out to explain her situation.

"...go home now, in my sweatshirt, when you told your dads you were saying at Tina's," he finished for her.

She nodded miserably. Puck furrowed his brow a few minutes, and then appeared to make a decision. Sliding himself back into the driver's seat, he reached back for the seat belt.

"Buckle up," he said, turning the keys in the ignition.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she slid the safety belt into place.

"Home."

"But I just told you..."

"Not your home," he said, "Mine."

"What?" she gasped, "What about your parents?"

He shrugged. "It's just my mom and me," he said, "and she'll be asleep."

Rachel looked at him horror. "Have you lost your mind, Noah Puckerman?"

"It's possible," he said thoughtfully, "but I'm blaming that on you."


	30. Now, if only she had a pair of stilettos

**Author's Note: Bear with me Sunny... I promise, it's coming :)**

She was right, he'd lost his mind, but it was all her fault. He should just take her to her house. Rachel was a quick thinker, she could easily come up with a story to tell her dads. And if she couldn't and she got in trouble well that wasn't his problem, was it?

On the other hand, Puck was 99% percent sure that he could away with taking her home with him. His mom was a nurse at the local hospital, and knew she had worked a 12 hour shift today, and was scheduled to work again at 7am tomorrow. She was usually sound asleep by the time he got home on Friday's and she'd be gone before he even woke up. Due to the embarrassing 'Rosie Palm' incident, she never entered his room unannounced. Of course there was always the 1% chance this could go horribly wrong, but he decided not to think about that.

Rachel was still staring at him as if he had told her he was a flesh eating ax murderer.

"Noah, you can not be serious."

He flashed a grin at her.

"What's wrong Berry?" he asked, "you chicken?"

"I am most certainly not a 'chicken', thank you. But you can't possibly think this is a good idea."

She sounded panicky, he thought, and he wondered which part of his plan scared her more, the idea of getting caught, or the idea of being alone with him, in a room with a bed. The thought of her in his bed made him grin. He imagined her beneath him in nothing but white lace, pink ribbons, and pearls....

"Noah!" she demanded, "Are you listening to me?"

"Nope," he said, grinning wickedly.

"Excuse me?"

"No, I wasn't," he said, "I was actually imaging what you'd look like laying on my bed wearing nothing but..."

"Never mind," she said quickly, "It wasn't important."

He laughed as her face turned bright red. He could tell she hadn't thought about the bed thing before, but she was definitely thinking about it now.

"You know, the more I think about it, I really should go home. Lying to my dads was a terrible thing to do and I should just go home and take responsibility for my actions and accept whatever punishment I deserve as a consequence for..."

"Rach, calm down."

"No, no it's okay, I.."

"Rachel," he said firmly, "Calm down, it'll be okay. I promise."

He could tell she wasn't sure. She was wringing her hands again, and biting on her lip.

"Look, if it makes you feel better, I promise to sleep on the floor."

"Really?" she said hopefully.

"Yes really," he said with a sigh. He wished she didn't look quite so relieved.

She sat quietly for the rest of the ride. As he pulled his truck in front of his house and killed the engine, she suddenly turned toward him.

"What if I don't want you to sleep on the floor?" she asked in a rush, as if it had taken her the entire ten minute ride to gather the courage to say the words aloud.

"Up to you," he said casually. On the inside he was grinning and giving himself mental high fives. This could totally be worth it.

"Stay in the truck for a sec, okay?"

She nodded, her cheeks still flushed.

He grabbed his bag, and walked quickly up to his front door. He slid the key in the lock gingerly, and carefully pushed the door open. Stepping inside he set his bag down in the narrow entry way and stepped into the living room. He looked down the hallway to his left and saw that his mother's bedroom door was shut. Retracing his steps, he walked back outside and helped Rachel out of the truck. When she stood up, his sweatshirt fell well past the middle of her thighs, and still she managed to make it look good.

He grabbed her coat, purse and sweater, and quickly guided her into the house. Just as they made it into the living room, he heard his mother's door crack open. Puck quickly shoved Rachel toward the kitchen as she grabbed her things from his hands. He motioned for her to be quiet, and almost laughed out loud at the "Duh, you idiot," look she gave him.

Puck looked up to see his mom walking down the hall in her blue flannel

bathrobe.

"Noah, honey bear, is that you?"

He winced at the pet name, and walked towards her.

"Yeah mom, it's me. What are you doing up? You have to work early," he said, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"I know," she said, "but I heard you guys won your game, and I wanted to congratulate you. Tina Rutheford said you scored a touchdown."

Puck felt his heart swell over the pride in her voice. "I did, mom, it was awesome. I'll get a copy of the game tape from coach for you."

"I'm sorry I missed it Noah," she said, apologetically. "I promise, I'll be at the next game though."

He squeezed her tightly. "It's okay, I know you had to work." He looked down at her, and noted the dark circles under her eyes. "Go back to sleep, mom, you look exhausted."

"No, I'm fine," she said, stepping toward the kitchen, "You must be starving. I made lasagna, let me just heat it up for you..."

"No," Puck said a little too quickly. Trying to sound causal, he continued. "No, mom... I can heat it up myself. Really, go back to bed, I know you're tired."

He could she was wavering. "Promise you'll eat something?"

"Cross my heart," he said.

"And you'll clean up the dishes?"

He nodded.

"Okay then," she sighed, "Goodnight honey bear, I love you."

"I love you too, mom," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

He watched as she turned, and headed back to her room. He waited until the door was firmly shut before glancing over to the kitchen door. When he was satisfied that his mother was asleep, he walked in to find Rachel carefully studying the pictures on fridge.

"Hey you," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

"Honey bear?" she said smiling.


	31. Into the lion's den

Rachel stood frozen, her heart pounding in her chest, and marveled over the heartfelt exchange between mother and son. It was certainly not what she had expected but then again, up until a few days ago she would have been entirely unsurprised to discover that Puck was actually spawned by demons. She sighed inwardly as she realized he had been right, she hadn't known him at all.

When she heard his mother retreat to her bedroom, she relaxed slightly, and took in her surroundings. Though the lights were off, moonlight poured in through a window over the sink, and bathed the room in an ethereal glow. The kitchen was small, but immaculate and the cheerful decorations gave the room a cozy feeling. Setting her things down on the small table next to her, she tried to imagine Puck sitting here eating dinner with his mother.

The collage of photographs and papers on the refrigerator caught her eye, and she moved closer to inspect them. Carefully studying his last report card, she was mildly amused to realize that, with the exception of math, he wasn't a bad student. Not a great one, but not bad either. Her gaze wandered to the dozen or so pictures arranged neatly on the door. Half a dozen were the requisite school photos, and sports photos from baseball and football. There were two of him and Finn, presumably before a school dance, as they were wearing suits. The rest were snapshots of Puck and a small blonde woman whom she assumed was his mother. They bore little resemblance to one another, save for the eyes, but it was obvious that they were close.

She was so engrossed in a photo of Puck, with his arm around his mother's shoulder, kissing her cheek, that Rachel didn't hear him as he moved up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Hey you," he whispered.

Tilting her head back, she peered up at his face. He looked so pleased with himself, that she couldn't resist teasing him a little.

"Honey Bear?"

He growled and buried his face in her neck. The arms around her tightened, and he tickled her ribs lightly.

"Don't even think about it."

The moment was so achingly perfect that she felt a sharp pang of disappointment when he loosened his grasp. Taking her by the hand, he led her through the dark house, and into his bedroom. She blinked rapidly as he flicked on the light, adjusting to the sudden brightness. The room slowly came into focus, and her eyes widened in shock.

"What did you expect?"

"I'm not sure…" she said, carefully considering the question, "Black velvet, and mirrors on the ceiling?"

Puck snorted. Walking over to basket on the floor, he pulled a pair of sweat pants from the neatly folded piles of laundry. Stepping out of his shoes, he reached for the button on his jeans, and she gasped in horror when she realized that he was planning on changing right in front of her. He flashed a wicked grin as he slowly started to lower the zipper.

She spun on her heel and squeezed her eyes tightly shut and covered her face with her hands. Her heart was racing a mile a minute and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice behind her.

"It's safe now."

She turned cautiously, peeking through her fingers, and sighed with relief when she saw he was fully dressed.

"Here, put these on," he said, shoving a pair of gym shorts toward her.

She shook her head vigorously. "No, I'm fine thank you."

Puck looked down at her jeans pointedly. He was right of course; the wet denim was clinging to her legs, and chafing her skin. She snatched the shorts from his hand, and looked around desperately. He gave her a smirk and walked out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him. As she shed her jeans, and pulled the shorts on, she wondered briefly if she should check for hidden cameras. After the incident in the truck, it seemed highly unlikely that he would pass up an opportunity to watch her undress.

Holding the wet jeans in her hand, she spotted the desk chair and carefully laid them across the back to dry. She fought the urge to snoop through his drawers, and instead peered around the room. Like the kitchen, it was small but tidy. The double bed against the far wall was neatly made up with a well worn quilt, and the carpet, while threadbare in spots, appeared recently vacuumed. A faded wallpaper boarder depicting various sports equipment ran around the top of the walls, obviously a remnant of his childhood. The small bookcase tucked into the corner was stuffed with sports trophies of varying sizes, some with arrays of brightly colored award ribbons hanging from them. An acoustic guitar, covered in stickers from various bands, lay casually propped up against the side of the desk.

Rachel had been joking when she had mentioned black velvet and ceiling mirrors. Okay, she conceded, maybe only half joking, but she certainly hadn't imagined anything quite so… normal. She walked closer to the dresser and examined the handful of pictures tucked neatly into the frame of the small mirror that hung on the wall. She smiled at the sight of two young boys dressed in baseball uniforms, grinning broadly at the camera. They looked to be around nine or ten years old, and Finn, tall and gangly even then, had his arm slung around a much smaller, slighter and mohawk-less Puck.

Her eyes trailed upward and lingered on the image of a younger version of his mother, caught mid-laugh as she held a small dark haired boy. Leaning closer, Rachel spotted the disembodied arm encircling the pair, a frayed edge indicating that its owner had been carefully torn from the picture. His father? she wondered.

Just then, the door creaked open and Puck backed into the room with her jacket and sweater tossed over his shoulder and her tiny pink purse dangling from his wrist. As he turned, she saw that he had a plate piled high with food balanced carefully in one hand, and two bottles of water in the other. She quickly grabbed the plate from him, and her stomach growled as she caught a whiff of the mouth watering aroma.

He shut the door gently, and neatly placed her belongings on his desk. Plopping down onto the floor, he motioned for her to join him. She sat down carefully, tucking her legs underneath of her and set the plate between them.

"Heads up" he said, tossing a bottle at her.

As she grabbed hold of the flying water, he plucked a fork off the plate and proceeded to scoop an impossibly large of amount of lasagna into his mouth. Without bothering to swallow, he gestured towards the food.

"Eat."

She smiled and picked up the remaining fork, and gingerly took a bite. The pasta was delicious, and she realized she been starving. They ate in comfortable silence, and when he finally polished off the last bite, he sat back and eyed her carefully.

"So tell me, Berry, what exactly did you have planned for tonight, you know, when to lied to your dads and all?"


	32. Little Miss Not So Innocent

**Author's Note: Thanks again for all the love. :)**

**If you don't have "Conversations" on alert (and you should) Chapters 9&10 are up, and they're perfection as usual...**

Puck had been dying to watch her change her clothes, but he noticed that his sweatshirt hung practically to her knees, and realized he probably wouldn't get to see anything good. He had considered sticking around anyway, just to watch her squirm, but he was hungry and his mother's lasagna was practically calling his name.

He opened the refrigerator and pulled out the neatly labeled Tupperware dish, noticing that there were two others next to it. Their tags read 'Saturday-Lunch' and 'Saturday-Dinner'. Smiling over his mother's handiwork, he wondered if she would ever acknowledge the fact that he was no longer a scrawny ten year old. Puck was completely capable of preparing food for himself, he was actually a pretty decent cook, but he knew his mother felt guilty for working so much, and tried to make up for it whenever she could.

He pulled a glass plate out of the cupboard, and scooped the pasta on to it. Opening the microwave, he slid the plate in, closed the door and punched the reheat button. He knew it would taste better if he warmed it up in the oven but the idea of Rachel Berry being alone in his room made him nervous. He didn't put it past her to snoop through his things. She wouldn't consider it snooping of course, she'd tell herself that she was merely seizing the opportunity to study the habits of adolescent males or some crap like that, but it was still snooping. He remembered the stack of magazines carefully hidden under his bed and looked nervously at the timer on the microwave.

As Puck rinsed the Tupperware in the sink, and placed it in the dishwasher, his mind wandered back to the image of her lying beneath him, her dark brown hair spread out in a fan on his sheets. Her skin had been so soft when he'd slid his hand over her stomach, and the sound of her gasp had nearly done him in. He pictured her tiny hands splayed across his bare chest, and…

Jesus… he thought, he had to stop this. He knew that there was a better than even chance that he was going to end sleeping on the floor tonight, though it wouldn't be for a lack of effort on his part. If he kept thinking about her like this, he was in for a very long, very uncomfortable couple of hours.

Yanking open the fridge, he looked at the open case of Budweiser sitting on the bottom shelf. It belonged to his mother's boyfriend, and Puck knew the scumbag wouldn't notice if a few were missing. He wasn't sure if Rachel would drink it, but if she did… A sharp stab of guilt took him by surprise. Annoyed by the unfamiliar sensation, he hastily grabbed two bottle of water, and closed the door. What the hell was wrong with him? It's not like he took advantage of drunk girls or anything, but he knew a beer or two would relax them both. Why the hell was he feeling guilty?

The buzzer went off, interrupting his thoughts, and he pulled the steaming plate out of the microwave. Grabbing two forks out of the silverware drawer, he stuck them on the plate, and turned to grab the two bottles off the counter. A flash of pink caught his eye, and he realized she had left her things on the kitchen table. Looking down at his full hands, he contemplated making two trips, but he was afraid to wake his mother. Setting the plate and water on the counter, he flung the wet sweater and pink coat over his shoulder. As he did, something fell out of her coat pocket and landed on the floor.

Leaning over he picked up the small brown bag and curiously looked inside. Okay fine, he'd snoop too if he were in her room alone, he thought, so what?

The contents of the bag shocked him. Not like 'oh my, that's surprising', but hard core, 'knock the wind out of you' shocked. Suddenly, everything clicked, her outfit… lying to her parents… He had seriously underestimated Rachel Berry. He was in, he was so in. He was fucking golden.

Puck carefully tucked the bag back into the coat pocket, and looked at the tiny purse on the table. He was dying to look inside and see what other secrets little miss not-so-innocent was hiding but his mother's voice popped into his head.

"A woman's purse is sacred, Noah."

He strongly suspected she had told him that because she didn't want him stealing the butterscotch Life Savers she always kept in her purse when he was a kid, but he wasn't entirely sure. Still, the childhood admonishment was enough to keep from rooting around in Rachel's bag. Looking at the steaming plate of food, he considered dumping it in the trash… eating it, after all, would take time. But then again, they had all night, and besides that, he was starving.

Gathering everything up, he practically ran down the hall. This was going to a much better evening than he had anticipated.


	33. Fast Times

**Author's note: I waited to post Chapters 33 and 34 together because even I thought it would be cruel to leave you hanging. ***Warning*** Some of you aren't going to like this chapter when you're through, all I ask is that you read both 33 and 34 before making up your mind. I hope I didn't go off the reservation with this one.**

It wasn't the question that upset Rachel. It unnerved her, yes, but it was the gleam in his eye that left her panic-stricken. The cocky pursed lip smile didn't help either.

Rachel tried to stall for time. She gathered the forks and plate, and quickly stood up and moved towards the desk. The temperature in the room seemed to have shot up ten degrees, and the air felt heavy. Her mind was racing, trying to come up with a plausible explanation for her actions. Setting the plate on the desk, she turned around.

"I was originally planning on going to Tina's after the game, so it wasn't actually a lie…" She hoped he hadn't heard the wavering in her voice.

Rising from his seated position, he closed the gap between them in one stride, but he didn't touch her. She reached back, and gripped the chair behind her.

"Really?" he asked, but she could see in eyes that he didn't believe her.

"Of course, I… I mean, of course things changed, after the game, with, well… you know, the kiss…well, technically kisses, and … and then you asked me to the party, and then at party… well obviously you know what happened at the party… you were there, after all… and then Santana… and you kissed her, or actually she kissed you… but I didn't know that…"

"Rachel," he said, interrupting her, "breathe."

She took a deep breath in, and looked up at him.

"Anyway, so after all that, it was too late to go to Tina's."

He tilted his head to the side and gave her that smile again. He leaned into her and raised him arm. She held her breath and closed her eyes, waiting for his touch, his kiss. She waited and… nothing. She heard a clicking sound, and suddenly music poured from behind her. Her eyes flew open; she turned her head and saw the iPod and speakers sitting on his desk. How had she missed that earlier? She vaguely recognized the song, but before she could identify it, he was kissing her neck. She knew she was quickly losing control of the situation.

"W… what song is this is?" she asked, breathlessly.

"Kashmir," he murmured into her neck.

"Oh," she said, "any particular reason you chose this song?" She knew that was a stupid question, but she couldn't think. She needed him to slow down so she could think.

He paused for a second and raised his eyes to hers.

"Because I don't have Led Zepplein IV on my iPod."

She was utterly confused by his statement, and the laughter in his eyes, but at least he had stopped kissing her.

"Anyway, so as I was saying, I was planning on going to Tina's, but by the time everything happened with the party, it was too late."

He resumed his attack on her neck, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Berry," he murmured, "you are a lousy liar."

"Pardon me?"

He slid a hand up her back, and tangled it in her hair. Pulling back, he stared into her eyes.

"You were never planning on going to Tina's."

"Excuse me? Yes I was.

"No," he said, smiling, "you weren't. Remember when I asked you about your curfew?"

She frantically tried to recall the conversation.

"I told you I didn't have a curfew, that I was supposed to go to Tina's."

"Nope. Try again."

She racked her brain, trying to figure out what he was getting at.

"That's exactly what I told you…"

"No, you said you _told your dads_ you were staying at Tina's."

"You lost me…" she said.

"If you were planning on staying at her house, you would have said that. But you didn't, you said you told your dads that, which means it wasn't true. "

When did Noah Puckerman get so freaking smart? she wondered to herself. She was annoyed with herself for falling into his trap.

"So tell me Rachel Berry," he purred, "what was going through that pretty head of yours when you lied to your parents."

What _had_ she been thinking? It had all been so logical at the time. The mental Pro/Con list she had made clearly indicated that it was a good choice. Her plan had made perfect sense. But now that she was standing here, with only a few articles of clothing keeping that plan from becoming a reality, she was terrified. She needed to stop, she couldn't think. God, she couldn't breathe.

He was kissing her neck again, and she felt his hand slide up under the sweatshirt again.

"I think I know why you lied…"

"Oh r…really? Why's that?"

"Because you wanted this."

"W…what's this?"

"You… Me… Us… together."

"T…together?"

He didn't answer her. He devoured her mouth. His hand was sliding over her bare back, and his touch was pushing her toward the brink of insanity.

"Tell me, Rach…" he whispered against her lips.

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me why you lied… what you were thinking about…. what you want…"

Oh God. Her head was going to explode. He was right, she did want this. She didn't want him to stop touching her, ever.

"I…I don't know…"

He pulled back again, and his eyes burned into her.

"I think you do…"

He knew… she could see it in his eyes. There was no way she could hide it.

"You. I want you."

Before she was done saying the four words, he had swept her up and laid her on the bed. His mouth was on hers and she could feel the weight of his body pressing down. She felt him tugging on the sweat shirt, and he stopped kissing her long enough to slide it over her head. Tossing it across the room, he pushed himself up on his hands, and looked at her.

"Jesus Rach…" he breathed, "you're beautiful."

That should have thrilled her. That should have made her heart flip. When it didn't, she knew that this wrong. Every fiber of her body wanted to be here, to be with him, but not like this. It was too much, too fast. She looked up him with shiny eyes. He was going to hate her.

"Noah… I..."

Before she could finish, he dropped his mouth back to hers and she lost her nerve.


	34. One of my kind

**Author's Note: Yes, I know Puck is probably way too young for the Fast Times reference, but I couldn't resist. Sue me. ******

God she was beautiful, he thought as he looked down at her. Puck wasn't quite sure how it had happened, how she had ended up here, standing in his bedroom. He did know that he wanted her and that she wanted him. She wanted him… that part amazed him. Even before he kissed her after the game, she had planned on giving herself to him. He had no idea why, but that made him happy. Not 'yeah, I'm the man' happy, but just… happy. It was an odd feeling.

Puck wanted to hear her say it. He was glad he had decided to forgo the beer, because he wanted to know that when she said it, she meant it. Why was that important? It never had been before.

"Tell me Rach…"

Please, he thought to himself, just say the words.

"Tell you what?"

God, how could she tease him at a moment like this? He needed to know…

"Tell me why you lied… what you were thinking about… what you want…"

He stared into her eyes, and he could see it… he knew. He just needed to hear her say it.

"You"

That was he heard, all it took for him to pick her up and carry her to the bed. His mind stopped functioning and all he could do was feel… Feel her lips against his, the soft smooth skin under his hand. He paused long enough to slide the shirt over her head and when he looked down at her… Jesus, it was better than he ever could have imagined.

"Jesus Rach… you're beautiful."

And she was. Not hot, not smoking, not gorgeous… beautiful. The intensity he felt, the desire… it scared him more than a little.

"Noah… I…"

He couldn't wait. He kissed her again… he needed more, needed all of her.

She was kissing him back… but it wrong. Something was wrong. He stopped cold, and pulled back from her.

"Rach?"

"Noah… I…"

The look on her face terrified him. What had happened? What had he done wrong?

"I can't"

He didn't understand. How could he have been so wrong? He had seen in it her eyes. She wanted him.

She didn't want him.

He pulled it all back. Every emotion, every desire, everything that had been pouring out of him less than a minute ago, he pulled it all back and shoved it back down inside.

"Fine" he said, and rolled over. "Never mind"

She sat up, her arms crossed across her chest self consciously.

"Noah…" she said hesitantly.

He didn't want to look at her, afraid that he'd fuck up more than he already had.

"Noah, I…" she started to reach out to him, but pulled back when she realized it would leave her exposed.

Looking around the room, he saw that the sweat shirt was a good 10 feet away. Growling, he sat up and yanked his shirt off. She flinched and he saw the fear creep into her eyes. Angry that she would be afraid of him, he tossed the shirt in front of her.

"Here," he said gruffly, "cover up."

She looked surprised. Why would she be surprised? It's not like he was a complete asshole. He wouldn't hurt her, or make her do anything she didn't want to do. She wanted this, he'd seen it… she'd said the words… He hadn't forced her to say them.

He hadn't, right? Maybe he helped her out a little, led her down the path… But he couldn't make her do anything she didn't want to do, right? Sure, maybe he'd thrown her a little off balance, but…

"Fuck" he said, putting his head in his hands.

"What?" Rachel asked.

He looked up and saw she had pulled the shirt on.

"Rach… I'm… I'm…" Damn it, why couldn't he say the words? "I'm…"

She took his face in her hands, and searched his eyes.

"I know," she said quietly, "but why? Why are you sorry?"

"For this," he said, sweeping his hand across the bed, "For making you… You didn't want this."

She laughed. "Of course I do."

His head snapped up. What the hell was she talking about? Women were fucking nuts, all of them.

"I want this, I want you, just… slower."

His heart lurched.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

He thought about what she'd said.

"Like, how slow?" he said with a wicked grin.

She picked up a pillow and threw it at him.

"You're a pig Noah Puckerman," she said laughing.

He tackled her and pinned her down, tickling her.

"So I've been told."

They lay on the bed laughing for a minute, and he suddenly he sat up.

"Seriously, Rach, I get the slow thing, and I can't believe I'm fucking saying this, but I'm cool with it, I think. There's just one thing…"

"What's that?"

"I've got to know, are your panties white lace and pink ribbons, too?"


	35. Blister in the sun

**Author's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the feedback you guys gave. I'm ecstatic that I didn't screw the whole thing up. ******

**This chapter is probably going to be anticlimactic… but it's transitory, I promise, there's good stuff ahead.**

**So… Funny story (you can skip this if you want, I'm just dying to tell someone this, and you guys are probably the only who will get why it's funny ) I was eating lunch with a bunch of Marines today (I work on a military base) and since the Department of Defense seems to think that and YouTube aren't "work related" and therefore blocks them, I was checking out your comments on my phone. I also pulled up the Canadian Promo for Mash-Up (cause you guys have WAAAY juicer promos) and saw the scene with Puck's mother. "Crap" I thought to myself, "I was so far off base with her it's not even funny, that totally messes up my last four chapters" Then I realized that the entire table had gone silent. Sooo… yeah, apparently I said it out loud, which led to a long and embarrassing explanation about "Glee", fan fiction, and my story. **

**To which one of my darling friends replied, "But you're a geek…" **

**I was baffled. **

"**You know, like a science and numbers geek" he continued. (Which I admit, I am) "Not, like, a drama and writing nerd."**

**This prompted a 15 minute discussion about the varying degrees of nerdiness, and geekiness, and where, on this scale, my writing fan fiction fell. (It was all good natured)**

**After all of this, one guy turns to the other and says "Are we going to play WOW tonight?"**

**And I'm the geek??**

**P.S. Sunny… the semi-MSCL reference is for you. ******

Rachel was lying on the bed, staring up at the look on Puck's face. His brows were furrowed, as if he were deep in thought, and his mouth was set in a grim straight line. He looked so serious that she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

"You are. After all this," she said, waving her hand between them, and gesturing to the bed, "after everything that just happened, the one thing you _have_ to know, is what type of underwear I'm wearing?"

"Yeah, so?"

"It's just an absurd question… it's ridiculous…" she said, fighting back the laughter that threatened to erupt again.

He shrugged, "It's important."

It was absurd, not just the question, but the entire situation. She glanced at the clock on his dresser. It was 1:45AM and she was lying in Noah Puckerman's bed, wearing his clothes. Not to mention that he was also sitting on said bed, shirtless, asking her about her underwear. Oh, and the fact that they had almost…

Oh, God, she thought, she had almost.., they had almost… and they would have, if he hadn't stopped it. Why had he stopped it? she wondered, because she wouldn't have. She had known it was wrong, that it was too much, but on some level she'd still wanted it. Whatever his reasons were, she was thankful for them.

"Why is so important?"

"Because… "he said, "because it just is."

"But…"

"Look," he said,"you want to take this slow, right?"

She nodded.

"Which means, chances are, I'm not getting any tonight, right?"

"Pretty much zero chance of that happening."

"And probably not tomorrow either, right?"

"It's highly doubtfully," she said smiling.

"Right, so pretty much you're saying it could be awhile, like one or two weeks or something, before I get any."

"Umm… maybe longer?" she said.

"Longer?" he said in shock,

She glared at him.

"Right, right… so longer then… cool" he said quickly, with a pained expression. "So anyway, if I have to wait… longer, then I need to know."

She looked at him quizzically. "I don't understand."

"Jesus, Rach… do I have to spell it out?"

"Apparently," she said with annoyance.

"If I have to wait, then I'm going to need, uh… inspiration, for… well, you know."

"No, obviously, I don't."

"For _later…_"

She had no earthly clue what he was talking about, though it was clear from the look on his face that she should.

"For later, for when you aren't here… So I can, uh, you know…"

"No, I don't…" and then the light bulb clicked on. "Oh! You mean… umm…"

"Exactly. Umm. Though personally I prefer to call it 'self-love'," he said grinning.

She snorted. "Really? Is that why you're so egotistical? You must do it a lot then."

He shrugged, "I'm a guy Berry."

Again, this was absurd. They were not having this conversation.

"So why do you need to know what my panties look like? Can't you just imagine them?"

"I could," he said smiling, "I have, actually, but it'd be better to _know."_

He was serious. She couldn't believe he was serious. He'd… she couldn't even bring herself to say it in her head. He'd done _that_, while thinking about her panties?

"When?" she asked.

"When what?"

"When did you imagine them, and um…?"

Now it was his turn to be embarrassed. This was actually kind of fun.

"You want me to name every time?"

She sat up. "More than once?" she asked incredulously.

He shrugged.

She smiled. "Really? That's kind of sweet."

He laughed. "Berry, you are the only girl I know who would think that was sweet."

He reached over and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her.

"But it means you were thinking about me… albeit obscenely." she said laughing.

"I was," he conceded, "I do, but I blame that on you."

"On me? Why?" she asked.

"The skirts, Berry, the ridiculously tiny skirts."

She leaned back against him, and rested her head on his chest. This was so… normal, well, maybe not normal, but it was comfortable. How could this person be Puck? Puck had spent her entire freshman year, and so far, most of her sophomore year generally making her life a living hell. The Puck she knew was a jerk, a bully, and what had Kurt called him? A man-whore? Why on earth would he act like that, when it was obvious he was capable of being so much more? It baffled her.

If she was being honest with herself, she thought, she'd admit that it worried her too, because if he could go from being Puck, her tormentor, to Noah, the boy with his arms wrapped around her, in such a short period of time, then it was entirely plausible that he could switch back just as quickly.

He shifted his weight, leaned back against the headboard and pulled her so that she was sitting between his legs, her back to his chest. He dropped his chin onto her shoulder and she leaned her cheek against his.

"Those weren't the only times, you know," he said hesitantly, as if he were struggling with the words.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"I thought about you other times, not just when I was…"

She was going have to make an appointment with the cardiologist if he kept making her heart skip beats like this.


	36. Miss Snuffleupagus

**Author's Note: FREAKIN' A... I just found a video of Puck singing... it's a spoiler for 1.08...**

***Sigh* Mark Salling is deeee-licous  
**

Four hours later, Puck realized she never answered his question about her panties. Somehow their conversation had drifted to other topics… school, Glee, even football. He'd been amazed to find out that she'd never seen a football game before tonight, and impressed by how much of the game she'd actually understood. Of course, he'd teased the crap out her after she told him she'd brought a Wikipedia article with her, but come on… that was too easy.

They'd talked about music for a long time, and she'd gotten huffy when he'd picked on her about her ring tone. He had been surprised to find out that she didn't know a whole lot about classic rock and she'd finally talked him in to playing a song for her. He had been deathly afraid of waking his mother up, but Rachel had insisted. He'd gone with "Wish You Were Here", partly because it was a kick ass song, and partly because he had figured she wouldn't know the lyrics, and therefore, wouldn't try to sing along. He'd been half right.

Eventually, she ended up back in his arms, on the bed and during what Puck had thought was a riveting conversation on the pros and cons of the designated hitter, she'd nodded off. He hadn't noticed until she started drooling on him. He had shaken her lightly and when her eyes popped open, she had started babbling something about Maria being an ironic troll, whatever that meant. Puck had helped her up, and pulled the covers down on the bed. She had lay back down, grabbed his favorite pillow, and promptly fallen asleep. He had walked across the room, turned out the light and made sure his door was locked.

Climbing into the bed, he tried to fluff up the lumpy pillow she'd left him with, and since she'd decided to sleep in the middle of the mattress, he gently rolled her towards the wall. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her small body into his. She responded by snuggling back against him, and given the alignment of her ass to his junk, she pretty much guaranteed he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon. Typical Rachel, even unconscious, she could drive him nuts.

He'd noticed that she kinda snored. Not snored like Finn did, that dude used to keep Puck up for hours with his freight train imitation, but she made this weird little snuffling sound. It was like a girly snore, he guessed. He wondered if all girls did it. Puck wouldn't know because he had never actually slept, as in gone to sleep, with a girl before. Not that he was able to do that now. Every time he had been remotely close to nodding off, she had wiggled against him and he'd been back to square one. He contemplated getting up and going to the bathroom to take care of the problem, and that was when he realized she'd never answered him about her panties. He pulled the covers back to see if there was any way he could he could get a peek at them, but his shorts and T shirt were entirely too big on her for that.

Puck had expected a simple yes or no answer to his question, not the freaking Spanish inquisition. He also hadn't expected to explain the purpose of his request, although it had been fun to mess with her. It had also been a good way to try and get her to define 'slow'.

Not that Puck had been super thrilled about her answer. Maybe longer, Rachel had said. Longer than two weeks? Was she serious? The last time he had gone any significant period of time without sex was when he had been fourteen and Mrs. Hudson and his mom had decided it would be a great idea for him and Finn to go to camp for the summer. Even then it had only taken him a month to hook up with one of the camp counselors. Finn, of course had spent the entire summer mooning over Jenny something or other, and after two months he had finally managed to kiss her the night before they left.

He was suddenly thankful for his pool cleaning business. Even if it was beyond swimming weather in Ohio, his business hadn't slacked off any. He could totally get his needs met and Rachel would never have to find out.

Guilt stabbed him in stomach. Seriously, what the fuck was up with that? First with the beer, and now this. It's not like he was a cheating bastard or anything, he told himself, he just tended to take advantage of opportunities when they arose. That didn't make him an asshole, just a horny teenage guy.

Okay, so fucking his best friend's girl had been a total dick move, but he'd been pissed at Finn. Finn had been his best friend for as long as he could remember and during that time, Finn had never lied to him once. Besides his mom, Finn was the one person he had always counted on. Right up until the Glee shit started, anyway. First he'd lied about skipping practice, and then he'd lied about being into Rachel. So really, in Puck's eyes, Finn had totally broken the bro code first. Nailing Quinn had been about evening the score, hadn't it?

Yes, and no. Quinn Fabray had been out of his league, and she had known it. He'd made a move on her last year, and she had shut him down so fast it made his spin. She was an all American kid, president of the celibacy club and from a 'good Christian family'. She'd been quick to remind Puck that he was a Jewish kid, with a single mom who had lousy taste in men and he was one misstep away from a juvie record. He'd had avoided her after that, but then they'd been forced to hang around each other because of Finn. She had still looked down her nose at him most of the time, but every once in a while, he caught her eyeing him with a strange look on her face. That night, with the wine coolers, he'd wanted her to admit that she liked him. He'd wanted her to admit that he'd been good enough for her all along.

Then there was Rachel. He'd known Finn had liked her, really liked her. But Puck hadn't meant for all this stuff with Rachel to happen, and besides, he'd gotten her fair and square, hadn't he? Rachel had been the one to tell Finn that she wanted to be just friends. Puck thought back to the first night in the music room, when Rachel had been crying her eyes out over Finn. She had just found out about Quinn's pregnancy. Quinn was pregnant with Finn's kid, and that had changed everything for Rachel, and opened the door for him.

Shit, he thought, the baby. He realized he had managed not to think about Quinn or the kid for almost six hours. _His_ kid. He hugged Rachel closer and wondered how she would react when she found out the baby was his. Not fucking well, he imagined. He started to get a weird sick feeling in his stomach. She was going to hate him.

Puck wanted to wake her up. He didn't think he has the balls to tell her about the baby, but he wanted to talk to her. She'd reassure him that he wasn't a complete asshole. Except, he thought, he was starting to think that maybe he was. Looking down at her sleeping face, he wondered if he should just end this now because it was only going to blow up in his face later on. Offense, not defense, was always the way to go.

His head was hurting, and he closed his eyes, just as the first signs of light started to hit the sky.


	37. Leader of the pack

**Author's Note: I finally sat down and read through everything I've written so far and I'm kind of embarrassed by all the typos. I've learned it's very hard to spot them in your own writing, and I probably should be using a beta… So, sorry for that. Maybe tomorrow I'll go through and fix the previous chapters.**

**P.S. hot against a wall... I saw your review just as I uploaded this... sorry I didn't catch on to this earlier.  
**

Quinn Fabray woke up that morning praying that the events of the past ten weeks had all been one extremely horrifying nightmare. One minute later, when the wave of overwhelming nausea hit her, she ran her hand over her formally flat belly and felt like crying. Turning her head, she saw the Rocky Road stain running down the front of the Cheerios uniform hanging on her closet door, and wondered how she had fallen so far from grace.

She had been born to be the high school "It Girl". Her mother was a former beauty queen, who lived vicariously through her blond, beautiful daughter and her father was a respected member of the community. The city councilman doted on his little girl and stressed the importance of one's reputation constantly. Dance and gymnastics lessons, beauty pageants and Sunday school had been the staples of Quinn's childhood. For sixteen years she had been a dutiful daughter, and done everything to make her parents proud. She was captain of the Cheerios, president of the Celibacy Club and on track to win Homecoming Queen her senior year. She had Finn, who was the ideal boyfriend. He was the quarterback and he was cute, sweet and easily manipulated. Everything had been perfect.

Right up until Rachel Berry and her band of misfit Gleeks had come along.

The mere thought of Rachel Berry set off another wave of nausea. The annoying brunette was so far below Quinn on the social ladder that she should have barely rated Quinn's notice, and yet, somehow she had managed to ruin Quinn's life.

Quinn waited for her stomach to settle before sitting up and reaching for her laptop. Flipping the lid open, she clicked on the internet icon and logged on to her MySpace page. Within minutes her face was bright red with fury. Several of her classmates had commented on the after party she had skipped, and from the various statements, Quinn was able to piece together a rough version of the evening's occurrences. One person had even posted a picture of Puck, with his arm around a girl that looked like a normal version of Rachel. The caption on the photo read "First Finn, now Puck… That Berry chick must have some sweet juice," and there were a multitude of vulgar comments that followed. Quinn snatched her phone off her night stand and sent texts to Santana and Brittany telling them to meet her at her house in thirty minutes. She didn't even bother to wait for a reply.

She managed to shower and dress without vomiting, and waited impatiently for her friends to arrive. Glancing over at her laptop she saw that Puck's picture was still on the screen and slammed the lid shut. Next to Rachel Berry, Noah Puckerman was easily her second least favorite person in the world. Him and his stupid mohawk. Although Puck was a good looking guy, he was a loser and Quinn Fabray didn't date losers. She had been forced to associate with him due to his friendship with Finn, but she had never given him a second thought , at least not until he had cut his hair in that ridiculous stripe. The first day he showed up with it, Santana had nearly tripped over her tongue in the hallway.

"That's sooo… hot! He looks so… dangerous," Santana had said.

Quinn had made fun of him, and she had spent almost three hours convincing Finn that he would look like an idiot when he announced he was going to follow his friend's lead. It was true, of course, there was no way Finn could pull that look off, but Puck… Quinn found herself staring at him when she knew no one looking. Santana had been right, it was hot. Quinn knew that Puck was a jerk, but every once in a while he'd catch her eyeing him, and the looks he gave her in return sent chills down her spine. His cocky grin made her knees weak, and made her think thoughts that she knew Jesus would definitely disapprove of. Still, Quinn had her reputation to think about and there was no place for Puck in her master plan.

Everything would have been fine if Rachel Berry hadn't come along and caused her boyfriend to go retarded.

Finn's behavior regarding Glee and Rachel had made her furious. His actions reflected directly on Quinn, and he was turning her into a laughingstock. Rachel seemed to encourage Finn to think for himself, and that was one quality Quinn did not appreciate in a boyfriend. Suddenly, he was no longer at her beck and call, and Rachel's little speech at the celibacy club meeting had made him question their physical relationship. Quinn was losing control, fast.

She still had to be around Puck, thanks to Santana, and they had commiserated over Finn's behavior. Puck was just as annoyed at his friend, and expressed his disgust over Finn's interest in Rachel.

"Why's he all about the freak, when his girlfriend is every guy's wet dream?" Puck had asked.

Quinn had been flattered and strangely turned on by the obscene compliment, and found herself making excuses to be around Puck. His attention was addictive, and she ate it up. He was everything Finn wasn't, dangerous, unpredictable and dominant. By the time Quinn realized she was in over her head, it was too late. The wine coolers had merely been an excuse for her to act on her impulses, and when it was over, she'd been ashamed of herself. She couldn't trust herself to be around Puck, and had talked Santana into breaking up with him.

Puck had seemed hurt by Quinn's sudden avoidance of him, which had surprised her, but she didn't care. She had joined Glee to get her boyfriend back, and set her world right again. Nothing could stop her from taking her rightful place as Queen of McKinley High. Especially not an annoying little sophomore glee freak with man hands.

Nothing, that is, except for the child growing inside of her. Puck's child.


	38. Here comes the sun

Rachel was standing backstage after the opening night of her first starring role on Broadway. People were showering her with roses and praise, and friends, family and fans were rushing toward her to hug her. They descended upon her all at once, hugging her tighter and tighter until she was suffocating. Oddly, someone seemed to have pushed their hand under her shirt, and was cupping her breast…

It took several seconds for her dream world to dissolve into reality, and even when it did, she was still concerned she might be dreaming. She found herself lying almost face down on a bed that was not her own, with sunlight pouring into a room that was also not hers. The events of the previous evening slowly came to her one by one, and she deduced that the heavy weight pressing down on her was actually Noah Puckerman. Turning her head carefully, she came face to face with him. She didn't remember falling asleep, but it appeared that at some point he had gotten her under the covers and crawled in beside her. Their heads were sharing a pillow, and his body was covering hers. Her legs were tangled in his, and his left arm was snaked around her torso. She was still wearing his T shirt, but it was pushed up and his left hand was firmly trapped between the mattress and her right breast. She eyed him carefully, but he appeared to be sleeping, and the smile on his face made her wonder what he was dreaming about. On second thought, she realized she probably didn't want to know.

Suddenly he moved against her, and mumbled something she couldn't quite make out, but he didn't wake up. A quick glance at the clock on the dresser told her that it was eight thirty, and as much as she wanted to indulge in the moment, she knew she had to wake him up.

"Wake up sleepy head."

Puck groaned and kept his eyes firmly shut.

"Noah, come on, wake up…"

No response. She kissed him lightly on his smiling lips.

She felt him respond to the kiss and his left hand slid down to her hip. The next thing she knew, he had managed to roll over on his back, and pull her on top of him. Ending the kiss, she placed a hand on either side of his head, and pushed herself up. He looked up at her with a lazy grin, and hooded eyes.

"Now _that _is worth waking up for."

Looking down she saw that his shirt was still tangled up in her pearls, and pushed above her bra. Puck slid his hands up the sides of her bare waist, and she shivered at his touch. She leaned down and gave him a quick kiss, before swinging her leg over him and sitting on her knees next to him. She carefully untangled her pearls, and pulled the shirt down firmly. He rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his hand.

"Come on Berry, live a little."

She laughed. "Considering everything that's happened in the last twenty four hours, and that fact I may very well be grounded for the rest of my natural life when I get home today, I'd venture to say that I've 'lived' quite enough for now."

The look on his face clearly said he didn't agree with her.

"C'mon, get up," she said, poking him in his side.

He looked like he was in pain. "Give me a sec, Berry."

She climbed off the bed, and walked over to the desk. Picking up her jeans, she was glad to see that they were mostly dry. Her sweater, on the other hand, was still a damp mess. She straightened it out as best she could, and hung it over the chair where her pants had been.

"Your mom's gone, right?"

Puck nodded, his eyes closed and the pained expression still on his face.

"Can I use your bathroom, then?"

He nodded again. "Across the hall."

In the small bathroom, Rachel splashed her face with water, and tried to repair the damage the rain and sleep had done to her hair. She traded his shorts for her jeans, and used her finger and some of his toothpaste to try and get the morning taste out of her mouth. She longed for a hot shower, but at least she felt a little better.

Walking back into his room, she saw he hadn't moved from the bed.

"Seriously, Noah, get up… I need you to take me home."

He reluctantly got out of the warm bed, and stumbled past her to the door. Moments later she heard the sound of the shower running. She nervously made the bed and folded the shorts and sweatshirt she had worn, trying not to imagine him in the shower. After nearly thirty minutes, Puck entered the room again, looking refreshed and clad only in a towel. He opened his dresser and started pulling out clothes.

"What took you so long?" Rachel asked, annoyed.

Puck flashed a grin at her. "You really want to know?"

"No," Rachel said quickly, "never mind." Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"Turn around Rach," he said.

"Huh?" She was lost in thought, contemplating what he had being doing in the shower. When she looked up she saw that his hand was tugging on the towel, and she spun around and stared at the wall.

"Really, Noah, you couldn't do that in the bathroom?"

"Nope."

Several moments later, he reached past her, fully dressed and picked up the plate on the desk.

"Grab your stuff."

Rachel picked up her coat, sweater and purse and followed him into the kitchen. She watched as he carefully rinsed the plate and forks and placed them in the dishwasher. Opening the fridge, he grabbed a soda and offered one to her. She shook her head and he shrugged and walked into the entryway. He grabbed his letterman jacket from the hall closet, and grabbed his keys off a hook.

"C'mon, I'll drive you home."

She quickly put her coat on and buttoned it all the way to conceal the fact that she was wearing his T-shirt. They walked together into the cool morning air, and he helped her into the truck. She was silent for most of the drive to her house, her stomach in knots.

"You really think you'll get in trouble?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure… hopefully not, but my dads are very observant, and they'll be concerned if they've tried to call me."

Her heart soared when she noted that one of their cars was missing from her driveway. Her dads were rarely apart on the weekends, and this meant she could shower and change before she faced them. She glanced over at Puck, who was downing the last of the soda. He looked exhausted.

"Come inside," she offered, "I'll make you some coffee and breakfast."

He perked up instantly at the mention of caffeine and food.

"Good breakfast?" he asked, "or like, pop-tarts breakfast?"

She glared at him.

"Right, stupid question, I'm sure preservatives are bad for your voice or something."

She nodded.

He laughed, and they got out of the truck, and entered her house.

In the kitchen, a note explained her parent's absence.

_Rachel,_

_We've gone to Akron for the day to go antiquing. We should be home no later than 8pm. We left $30 on the counter, in case you'd like to order out for dinner. No driving, please. _

_Hope you had a wonderful visit at your friend's house, but please call us when you arrive home. We tried your cell phone, but the battery appears to have died. In the future, please remember to take your charger with you if you plan on being gone for an extended period of time. _

_Love,_

_Dad and Daddy_

Rachel let out a sigh of relief, and picked up the cordless phone to call her dads.

"Hi Daddy!" she said, when he answered the line.

Puck moved behind her and started kissing her neck.

"Hi, Princess, did you have fun?" her father asked.

"Yes, I had a great time, sorry about my phone," Rachel responded, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Its okay sweetie, just try to be more responsible next time."

Puck started to nibble on her ear, and Rachel tried to control her breathing.

"I will," she said quickly.

"We're glad you had a good time, and proud of your effort to be more social. Did you enjoy the football game?"

"It was… uh.. it was great. Really neat. We won." She was having trouble forming a complete thought.

"Are you okay Princess?" her father asked, clearly concerned by her brief answer.

"F…Fine Daddy, just tired, I was up really late," she stammered.

Puck's arms had snaked around her waist, and he whispered in her other ear, "Doubt your Daddy would approve of _why_ you were up so late."

Covering the mouthpiece with her hand, she shushed him.

"Rachel?" her father said, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Really, Daddy, I'm fine. I think I may take a nap later though, I know how important proper rest is for a girl my age."

"That sounds like a good plan, Princess," her father said, "Call us if you need anything, okay? We'll be home around eight."

"Okay Daddy," she chirped, "have a good time. I love you."

"Love you too Princess," he replied, and the call disconnected.

Rachel whirled around, and glared at Puck.

He smiled down at her. "So, Berry, how about that breakfast you promised?"


	39. I'll be on my way

Puck was standing alone in Rachel Berry's kitchen. After the phone call with her father, Rachel had put on a pot of coffee and gone upstairs to take a shower, promising to make breakfast when she was done.

"Blue and white boxers," he called out to her, as she ran up the staircase.

She'd stopped halfway and turned, "Excuse me?"

"My underwear… Blue and white boxers, just in case you need a little inspiration."

She'd glared at him and stomped up the remaining stairs.

He'd heard the shower turn on, and he started to look around the kitchen. It was huge. He guessed that half of his house would fit into the bright open space. The countertops were wide and probably granite, and there was a matching island with a breakfast bar built in. The appliances were all stainless steel, and looked pretty freaking expensive. Everything was polished to a bright gleam, and Puck had a hard time believing people actually lived here. There was no collage of pictures on the fridge, only a carefully printed calendar that appeared to be color-coded. He could see that someone had carefully penciled in two entries for last night.

_R-Football game_

_R-Sleepover at Tina's_

Puck was tempted to change the second entry, but decided that Rachel probably wouldn't find it funny. His stomach growled. Pulling open the door of the wide side-by-side fridge, he looked inside to find it fully stocked with every type of fresh food imaginable. He grabbed the carton of eggs, the milk, butter, a tomato, an onion, mushrooms, cheese and a package of diced ham he found in the meat drawer. Piling everything on the counter, he searched through the cabinets until he found a mixing bowl, a stirrer, a spatula, and a frying pan.

Grabbing a knife out of the knife block, he proceeded to wash and chop the vegetables. He turned the stove top on, and set the greased frying pan on it. He cracked several eggs into the mixing bowl, added milk and stirred briskly. After combining all the ingredients with the egg mixture, he poured half the bowl into the sizzling frying pan. When the mixture was set, he gently folded the omelet over, and slid it onto a plate. He was halfway through cooking the second omelet when he turned to see Rachel gaping at him.

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged. "What does it look like? Cooking breakfast."

"I can see that, but _why?_"

"Uh, because I was hungry. Figured you might be too."

She eyed the thick omelet suspiciously. "That looks _really_ good."

"You don't have to sound so surprised."

"You, Noah Puckerman, are a constant surprise to me," she said, smiling now.

Sliding the second omelet onto a plate, Puck pressed a button to turn off the stovetop and hoped that was a good thing. Somehow he didn't think she was to going react quite as well to 'Surprise, I'm Quinn's baby daddy.'

Rachel grabbed the plates from the counter, and set them on a table in a bright sunny space off of the kitchen. She returned, took two glasses from a cabinet and filled them with orange juice. Pulling silverware from a nearby drawer, she gestured toward the coffee pot.

"Would you pour me some, please?"

He nodded, pulled two mugs off their hooks, and filled them with the hot brown liquid. Puck noticed that she looked crazy hot in a snug pair of sweat pant type things that his mom called yoga pants, and a tiny T shirt. He walked behind her as they carried everything to the table, inspecting her ass for any signs of panty lines. None. Damn she was cruel.

After her first bite, her eyes widened. "Noah, this is delicious!"

He grinned, "What did you expect?"

"Honestly? That I would have to be extremely polite, and compliment you on your effort, while simultaneously insisting that I don't have a big appetite in the morning."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome," she said brightly.

When they were finished eating, he helped her clear the table and wash the dishes.

"So…" she asked, "what are your plans for the day?"

He was starting to recognize her fake casual voice.

Puck hadn't forgotten everything he'd decided the night before. He needed to leave her alone. There were a million things he should be doing today, and not one of them included Rachel Berry.

"Nothing much, what'd you have in mind?"

"Me?" she squeaked, "Oh... um… nothing really."

He should just leave. Staying here with her was a very bad idea. The more time they spent together, the more upset she'd be when it didn't work out. Then again, this might be the last time he got to be alone with her.

"Hmmm…" he said, as if he were thinking hard, "I guess we could hang out and do nothing together."

She practically started bouncing, "That would be nice!"

He put a hand on either side of her, and trapped her against the solid counter.

"Yeah," he purred, "we could always work on getting to know each other better."

She looked up at him with a stern expression. "Slowly, Noah," she said, "we decided to go slowly."

"No, actually, you decided, I just agreed."

"That's just semantics, the outcome is the same, and we're going slowly."

"You know, _Princess_, there's a whole lot of stuff in between kissing and sex, and you know what they say…"

He slid his leg in between hers, and pulled her forward so that she was wedged firmly against his thigh.

"No," she said, amusement written on her face, "tell me, Noah, what do they say?"

He shifted his leg slightly, and watched her eyes widen with shock as she rubbed against him.

"Practice makes perfect."


	40. The Grand Facade, so soon will burn

**Author's Note: I've gotten several reviews regarding the length of the chapters in this story, specifically that they aren't long enough.**

**There are a couple of reasons why they tend to be short.**

**1) When I started writing this I figured the story would be around five chapters, ten max. I liked the idea of switching POV's, and truthfully, I can get a little confused when other authors switch POV mid chapter. **

**2) It's easier for me to write one POV, post, take a break and come at the story from a different angle. And yes, I'm too lazy to splice multiple POV's into a longer document.**

**3) Sadly, most of what I write is pure unadulterated crap. So while most of my chapters start out around 4,000-5,000 words, by the time I edit out all of the nonsensical BS, I'm left with around 1,000 words. I'd rather post a shorter chapter of (comparatively) better writing, than make you sift through the bad stuff.**

**So, I apologize for the brevity, and I appreciate that you guys read it anyway. Your reviews have become like crack to me. ******

**PS BookSmartBlonde - I hope you're feeling better soon!  
**

Santana was sitting cross legged on her bed, rehashing what had happened last night.

"I just don't get it," she whined. "What could he possibly see in that loser?"

Quinn's head was spinning. She knew that despite her overwhelming dislike for them, if Puck and man-hands were actually into each other, it could be a very good thing for her. Puck wasn't stupid, he'd know that Rachel would be pissed if she found out the baby was his, and if Rachel was into Puck, well then, that meant she'd stay away from Finn. The whole pregnancy thing was bad enough, but it would be even worse if the truth about the father came out. Finn was a good guy, and although Quinn felt guilty about tricking him, she knew that he'd be there for her when things inevitably got bad. He was the kind of guy you could always count on to do the right thing. Puck's reaction to the baby had surprised her, but no matter what he said about wanting to take care of her, Noah Puckerman was not the kind of man a girl would want as a father to her child.

So then, why did the thought of Puck with Rachel make her eyes cloud over in a green haze of jealousy? The idea that any of her feelings for Puck had been real was just ridiculous. He had caught her in a moment of weakness, she told herself, it could have been anyone. She tried to ignore the nagging voice deep inside her head that told her she was lying.

The truth was, Puck had fascinated her. He hadn't treated her like a queen, he'd told her dirty jokes and called her out when she was being bitchy. He'd laughed in her face when she'd tried to tell him what to do. All of that should have made her angry, but instead she'd enjoyed it. Somehow, he'd seen beyond all of her games, and when she let her guard down, she'd never felt more comfortable just being herself. There were sweet moments too, like when they had sat on her couch and watched a movie. Puck had wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her for almost two hours, never once trying for anything more.

The night with the wine coolers had been her idea. Her parents were gone for the evening, and Finn had blown her off. She'd known that Puck and Santana had plans to go out with Brittany and Matt, Santana had told her so when Quinn had invited her over. She'd been so lonely, and so mad at Finn, that she hadn't thought twice about texting Puck. He'd arrived at her house fifteen minutes later and they'd settled onto the sofa to watch TV and make out. Somewhere along the way, Quinn had realized that she wanted more. He made her feel so alive, so _wanted_, and she didn't want to lose that. He'd been hesitant when she broke out the alcohol, but he'd gone along with it. She'd surprised him by leading him upstairs, and when it was clear where the night was headed, he had asked her if she was sure. Bolstered by the liquid courage, she'd said yes. He'd been gentle at first, and genuinely seemed concerned about hurting her but once the initial discomfort had passed, he'd been passionate. The whole thing lasted less than ten minutes and she had cried when it was over. She told him it had been a mistake. Puck had tried to hold her, tried to comfort her, but she'd pushed him away. She'd been so frightened by everything he had made her feel, and by the intensity of her feelings for him. Quinn knew that Noah Puckerman didn't belong in her life, regardless of how badly she had wanted him there.

Her life had gone back to a somewhat normal state after that. Santana had been mad that Puck had stood her up, and it had been easy for Quinn to talk her into dumping him. Puck tried to talk to Quinn several times after that night, but she'd ignored him, and eventually his eyes had turned cold and he refused to look at her. Quinn had joined Glee, and was able to keep Finn on a much shorter leash.

Then she had missed her period. It hadn't even occurred to Quinn that they hadn't used any protection that night and she'd cursed herself for being so stupid when she realized she was pregnant. She'd wanted to call Puck, she'd wanted to hear his voice and to cry in his arms, but she had known that was impossible. She was furious with him for not being the kind of guy her parents would accept, even though she knew, deep down, that she couldn't blame him for that.

"QUINN!"

Santana's screeching voice cut her thoughts short.

"Quinn, have you heard a word I've said?" she demanded.

"What? Oh… sorry San," Quinn stammered, "I'm just tired, I didn't sleep well last night."

Santana eyed her suspiciously.

"I was asking you what we're going to do about Rachel Berry. That freak needs to be put in her place."

Quinn sighed. "Nothing San, just wait it out. Puck'll get tired of playing with her soon enough."

Santana's eyed narrowed. "What's gotten into you Quinn?"

Quinn bristled at the implication in her friend's tone. "I'm _fine_. Just give Berry some time, she'll make a mess of this."

The skeptical look on Santana's face worried her.

Quinn glared at her friend, and Santana backed down slightly.

"Look, just trust me," Quinn said, "I'll handle it."

Santana still looked hesitant, but she acquiesced, and started going on about Matt Rutheford, and how wrong he was for Brit.

Quinn reached for her phone, and sent a quick text.

_We need to talk._


	41. Come on baby, Light my fire

Rachel wasn't sure which one of them was more surprised when she wrapped her fist in Puck's shirt and dragged him toward the foyer. She stopped short in the tiled entryway and motioned to his feet.

"Shoes," she said breathlessly.

"What? Huh? Oh…" he replied, as he realized what she meant.

Under different circumstances, she would have laughed at the sight of him hopping on one foot, struggling to pull off the black Converse Chucks he wore, but right then she just wanted him to hurry. He finally managed to get both shoes off, and he bolted up the stairs behind her. He caught her just short of her bedroom door, and snagged her by the waist. She turned, and let him capture her mouth in his. She was standing on her tip-toes, with her arms wrapped around his neck, trying to pull him closer to her. Dropping his hands from her waist, he grabbed her thighs and easily lifted her against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and moved her mouth down to his neck.

"Jesus, Rach…" he mumbled, and moved forward to grasp the door handle.

"The one with star…" she said into his neck.

"Yeah, got that, thanks…"

He swung the door open, and Rachel knew he was headed in a beeline for the bed. Crossing the room in four long strides, he lowered both their bodies onto the frilly bedspread. Reaching up, he untangled her arms from his neck, and pulled himself back until there was about two feet of distance between their upper bodies.

"Jesus, Rach… slow down a sec."

She didn't want to slow down. She had no idea what he'd done to her in the kitchen, but whatever it was it had set off a shower of fireworks inside her. Rachel had never felt anything like it before, and all she knew is that she wanted more.

"Fireworks," she murmured, "red and gold sparkly fireworks."

Puck laughed. "Fireworks, huh?"

She nodded dreamily.

Puck's face turned serious.

"Hey Rach? I.. uh…How far have…" he stuttered.

"Hmmmm?" she said, with her eyes closed.

"Rach, look at me."

She opened her eyes, still smiling.

"Look, I... um… I'm pretty sure that you've never…"

He looked so uncomfortable that she propped herself up on her elbows and studied his face carefully.

"What I'm trying to say… is… um…"

"Are you trying to ask if I'm a virgin?"

"Well, no, I pretty much guessed that, I'm trying to ask about _other_ stuff…"

She looked confused, "What other stuff?"

"The stuff in between…"

"Define 'stuff'."

He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"I assume you're referring to the various stages of foreplay?" she said.

He nodded uncomfortably.

"And you'd like to know how much previous experience I've had with these activities?"

He shrugged.

"Well, though I've read books on the subject matter, other than kissing, and anything you and I have done together, I haven't actually had any practical experience in that arena. Though given the circumstances, it appears that that may change."

He was grinning down at her. "Books, Berry? You've read books on the subject?"

"Well of course," she said curtly, "one should always strive to be prepared for any situation that may arise."

He winced when she said 'arise', but he continued teasing her. "Did any of these books mention red and gold sparkly fireworks?"

She considered his question carefully. "No," she said slowly, "I don't think so. I'm surprised by that though, it seems like an important thing to mention." Looking up at him earnestly, she asked, "Do you know what caused them? Because I'm really not sure, we were just sitting there talking, and then 'Wham!'"

"Um… yeah… I think I do."

A wave of relief washed over her. "Oh thank goodness, because I really did enjoy that."

He had that look of pain on his face again, and he carefully unwrapped her legs from around his waist.

"Bathroom?" he asked.

She pointed to the door leading to her attached bath. He glanced between the door and the bed, and winced again. Leaning down, he gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Be right back."

Rachel sat up and scooted herself back on the bed. Leaning her head back against the headboard she tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. Had she really just told him that she'd read a book about foreplay? She had, of course, read several books on the subject, well, on sex in general really, but they definitely covered the topic. Plus she was secretly addicted to trashy romance novels, even though her fathers disapproved. So she did have a vague idea of the 'other stuff' he'd been talking about. It's just that before now, it had all seemed, well, kind of gross actually. But when Puck touched her, when he kissed her… she found herself wanting more, and suddenly she'd understood the appeal of some of the things she had read about.

Not all of them, mind you, some of them still seemed pretty far fetched. There had been an entire chapter in one of the books devoted to one particular act that she was pretty sure could damage her vocal chords, so she'd have to make sure to avoid that one.

Rachel's biggest problem was that she couldn't think clearly around him. She would set clear limits for herself, but once he started touching her, she forgot all about them. It seemed odd to her that he was always the one to pull back, or slow down. Then again, he certainly had more experience in this area than she did, so maybe he was just less affected by it. She did think it was very sweet of him to take her feelings into consideration.

She glanced toward the bathroom door, and wondered what was taking him so long. They had fireworks to discuss, she thought with a smile.

Just then the little pink rectangle on her nightstand beeped to alert her of an incoming text message.


	42. Situation gets rough, I start to panic

**Author's Note: Whew… okay, so this one made **_**my **_**head hurt a little. Sorry it's a little frantic, but it just kind of seemed to fit the moment.**

**The title is from Violent Femmes "Kiss Off", which might also explain why it's slightly frantic.  
**

Damn it, Puck thought, was she _trying_ to kill him? Yeah, he'd been trying to turn her on in the kitchen, but he'd been shocked when she'd grabbed him by the shirt and practically dragged him upstairs. He hadn't expected her to react quite so… aggressively. And Jesus, in the hallway? When she'd wrapped her legs around him, he'd almost lost it. Even after he'd tried to talk to her, tried to slow her down a little bit, she been sitting there rocking her hips against him. He'd been so close to the edge and they'd both been fully clothed. Hell, the closest he'd come to seeing her undressed was getting her shirt off. He'd be lucky to last two minutes if he ever saw her naked.

What was wrong with him? Why wasn't he out there, getting a piece of the very gorgeous, very horny girl that was lying on her bed waiting for him? Slow my ass, he thought. She was so hot at the moment he knew he could seal the deal in five minutes, flat. He'd seen it before, hell, he'd _done_ it before. Why was he standing here in the bathroom?

Why had he asked her about her experience? He'd known she was a virgin, why did anything else matter? He had been trying to get her to slow down. Why had he been trying to _slow her down?_ That made no sense. And again, why was he standing in here, instead of out there, pulling down those snug little pants down those long tan legs…

Why did it feel like a sauna in here? He was dizzy. He turned the faucet on and splashed cold water on his face. Sitting on the closed toilet lid, Puck looked around the large bathroom for the first time. Why on earth anyone would want a bathroom that looked like someone puked Pepto-Bismol all over it was beyond him, but he knew Rachel liked her pink. Putting his head in his hands he tried not to think about her telling him about the fireworks.

He knew what he needed to do, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. First off, the bathroom was only feet from the bed, and he really didn't want her hearing him. Second off, the bathroom was all girly and lacy and pink, and he knew he'd end up feeling like a total perv.

Fuck, he couldn't go back out there like this, though. That was begging for disaster. Even when the girl wasn't trying, she managed to be sexy. He had to think of something. Puck closed his eyes and pictured his mom walking in on him, mid stroke. He'd been horrified and she'd almost passed out. It was the most embarrassing moment of his life.

Nope. No good.

He thought of Quinn, calling him a 'Lima Loser'.

Ahh, yeah, that did the trick.

Except now he was thinking about Quinn, and thinking about Quinn meant thinking about the baby. Double Fuck. He didn't think Rachel would be very happy with him if he punched her wall. His head was spinning now, and he dropped it lower into his hands. Taking slow deep breaths he tried to get the frantic thoughts running through his mind to slow down.

One thing at a time he thought. Make a list.

Problem: Rachel was very hot and bothered at the moment, and if he went out there he could probably get her to do anything he wanted her to.

Reasons why that would be a good idea:

Duh, really? He'd be getting ass. From a really hot chick, no less.

Reasons why that would be a bad idea:

Rachel had told him she wanted to take it slow. She'd be pissed if she thought he'd pushed her into it.

She was a virgin, and this moment was probably pretty fucking important to her. Two minutes was not likely to leave a good impression.

Again, big moment, the kind of thing you remember forever. It would really suck if she ended up hating him when she found out about the baby. She'd have to remember that every time she thought about her first time. That was just bad karma, dude.

Puck suddenly had one of those 'hit you like a dump truck' moments. What was wrong with him? Since when did he care about feelings and shit. All of this thinking was giving him a serious headache. Life was so much easier when he just did what he whatever wanted.

Yeah right, an unfamiliar voice in his head said, you wouldn't be in this fucking mess if you'd given half as much thought before you fucked Quinn.

Seriously? Sixteen years and his conscience picked _this_ moment to make an appearance? That was total bullshit. He sighed and wondered if he was losing his mind. He needed to get out of here, and to get far, far away from Rachel Berry. Except the idea of leaving made his stomach hurt.

Puck sat there a moment longer and finally made up his mind. If he couldn't be man enough to leave her alone, he needed to at least tell her the truth.

He stood up, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

Rachel was sitting on the bed, with her phone in her hands, typing on the small keyboard.

She looked up at him with a worried face as she hit a button on her phone.

"Are you okay? You were in there for a long time. Do dairy products upset your stomach?"

He smiled. For such a smart girl, she could sometimes be pretty dense.

"I'm fine Rach."

"Good," she said, smiling brightly, "I'm glad."

"Rach, I really need to talk to you about something…" he started, but he was interrupted by the beep on her phone. Whoever she was talking with had replied to her text.

Reading the small screen, she looked up at him and frowned.

"Did you really ask Kurt Hummel for my phone number last night?"


	43. Video Killed the Radio Star

**Author's note: Sorry about the delay. I've been down for the count since Monday with a horrendous strain of the stomach bug. (I know, excuses, excuses) Plus a little writer's block.**

**I did watch last night's episode with extreme delight, although I noticed I got irritated when Santana and Matt were hugging. Funny how my little world has become reality in my head. ******

**This may seem a little out of left field, but I promise... it ties in.  
**

Rachel glanced at the bathroom door and wondered if Puck was okay. It had finally dawned on her that he may have been more "affected" by their make-out session than she had previously assumed, and that thought made her smile.

Looking down at her phone, she saw that Kurt had sent her a text.

_You got some 'splaining to do, Lucy. Did you somehow arrange a personality transplant for Noah Puckerman?_

She responded quickly.

_Why? What have you heard?_

Looking up she saw that Puck had emerged from the bathroom. He looked pale and he was nervously combing his hair into a point with his fingers.

"Are you okay? You were in there for a long time." She was trying hard to keep a straight face. He looked so nervous that she decided to go easy on him. "Do dairy products upset your stomach?"

He smiled, but didn't relax any.

"I'm fine Rach."

"Good, I'm glad."

She watched him shift uncomfortably from side to side.

"Rachel, I really need to talk to you about something…"

Just then her phone beeped again.

_For starters, he asked me, nicely, for your phone number last night. I almost died from shock._

She frowned and looked at up at Puck.

"Did you really ask Kurt Hummel for phone number last night?"

"Yeah, but Rach… I really need…"

The phone beeped again.

_Then I read Jacob's blog this morning, nice video by the way. Next time though, remember that your left side is your good side._

Rachel was confused. Video? What video? Scooting off the bed, she walked over to her desk and flipped open her laptop.

"Baby, seriously, I really need to tell you something…"

Rachel swatted her hand at him.

"Hold on, I want to see the video Kurt's talking about."

"Huh? Video? What video?"

Rachel gave him an impatient look.

"That was my question exactly."

"Rachel, seriously, stop... this is important."

Rachel quickly typed in the web address for Jacob Israel's blog. She scanned through the latest entry quickly and gasped.

_PuckleBerry-Has she finally found a leading man, or is he just after a little casting couch action?_

_McKinley High's most unlikely couple, Rachel Berry and Noah Puckerman, were spotted getting hot and heavy in the student parking lot after last night's game. Shortly after that, sources say the sophomore diva showed up on the arm of the school's resident cougar hunter at Mark Watt's after game party, sparking a tense moment between Puck and a Quinn-less Finn Hudson. One has to wonder what the deal is, as the two were also spotted arguing about Miss Berry in the parking lot yesterday morning._

_It appears Rachel Berry has gone from the bottom of the social barrel, to having two football stars fighting over her, practically overnight. Has she cast a spell with her voice? Unlikely. It's more probable that Puck finally noticed that the girl has a pair of killer legs, showcased by miniskirts and knee socks. Berry may be a cub, but Puck has always been an equal opportunity man-whore, as long as the girl is hot and willing. The video evidence suggests that this little school girl may not be innocent after all.  
_

_The question we should be asking is how Hudson fits into the triangle. He's obviously been the object of Berry's most recent desires, but she's no match for his girlfriend, the beautiful Queen Bee Quinn Fabray. Despite Finn's sudden interest in singing and dancing, their cliché relationship seems to have remained solid. So where was Quinn last night? And why is Finn reacting so strongly to his best friend's attempts to get a piece of Berry pie? Unless perhaps, Finn had his thumb in said pie first? Stay tuned…_

The blog post was accompanied by a grainy cell phone video of their second kiss in the parking lot. Her jaw dropped open in horror. Not only was Kurt right, her right side really was her bad side, but she looked like she was throwing herself at Puck in the ill lit footage. Had she really been pressing herself against him like that? She was still hazy on the details, but she didn't remember grabbing his face between her hands. Good Lord, it looked like she was trying to suck the air out of his lungs. And who exactly had filmed them? Granted, she'd been distracted, but she didn't remember seeing anyone close by.

"What the fuck?"

Rachel looked up to see Puck staring over her shoulder.

"Damn, princess, you were all over me," he said, as the cocky smirk settled onto his face, "not that I blame you."

"That isn't funny Noah. This is embarrassing. No, it's beyond embarrassing, it's humiliating," she said, as she whirled to face him.

It _was_ humiliating. The video, combined with the story, made her out to be some kind of cheap flavor of the week. It was one thing to have people talk at a party, it was quite another to have footage of herself acting like a wanton hussy posted for the world to see. She could just see this coming back to haunt her someday when she was famous. What if her father's stumbled on this? They'd know she had lied to them, and they'd be incredibly disappointed in her lack of discretion. Everyone at school read this inane blog, and even if she managed to get Jacob to take it down, the damage was already done.

His face hardened. "Humiliating?"

"Of course it is! Everyone at school will see this and think… they'll think I'm…." she was waving her hand in frustration, searching for the right words.

"Think you're what Berry? Interested in me?" he spat.

"Did you actually _read_ what he wrote, or were you too busy patting yourself on the back? You have no idea what this means for me," she said throwing her hands up, "I'll be a laughingstock."

"As opposed to?" he shot back angrily.

She saw the look of regret flash across his face when he realized what he'd said, but his words felt like a slap in the face.

"Rach, come on, I didn't mean that…" he said, grabbing her arm.

She twisted out of his reach. "Maybe you didn't mean to say it, but obviously, it's what you think." Crossing her arms over her chest, she tilted her chin up. "It was exceedingly foolish of me to think that a tiger could change it's stripes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Up until three days ago, you've never been anything but a complete jerk to me. It was preposterous to think that wasn't your true nature. Though it's worth mentioning, you're a heck of an actor."

She walked over to the door, and gestured pointedly.

" I'm sure you've gotten a big kick of this little game, but it ends now. Get out."


	44. I wanna be sedated

Puck's feet were frozen to the ground, his jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed. Was she fucking serious? He had just spent ten minutes in her goddamn Pepto-Bismol puke bathroom questioning his sanity, and he had finally decided, for the first time ever, to put a chick's feelings ahead of his own, and she was kicking him out over a stupid blog post? Un-fucking-believable. This is exactly why he didn't do shit like this.

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I assure you Noah Puckerman, I am absolutely serious," she said, her voice dripping with bitterness.

"Seriously nuts," he muttered.

The fierce look she gave him made him instantly regret those words.

This whole thing was, to use her word, absurd. She had to have known people were going to talk about them. Hell, she'd practically been jumping up and down when she heard that he and Finn had been fighting over her in the parking lot.

He glanced down and skimmed over the words on the screen. Okay, so maybe it was a little harsh to claim she had been at the "bottom of the social barrel" but the jerk off had also called him a man-whore. Besides Jacob _had _pointed out that she was the owner of a pair of killer legs. The video was so dark and grainy you wouldn't even be able to tell who was in it if it weren't for his stupid mohawk. Who had taken the video anyway? And since when did Rachel Berry start caring what people thought of her? She spent half her time inviting people to laugh at her with those dorky MySpace videos she made. Why was kissing him so goddamn embarrassing?

Puck also realized the article made it sound like his intentions with her were less than honorable, but if she hadn't figured out by now that that was bullshit, then she wasn't as smart as he thought she was. How could she possibly believe everything that had happened between them in the last twenty four hours had been an act?

"Damn it Rachel, I'm sorry," he said through gritted teeth, "now would you just calm the fuck down?"

"Really Noah, your eloquence astounds me. I'm perfectly calm, and I'm absolutely serious. I'd like you to leave."

He stared at her for a long moment, but her icy gaze didn't falter. His mind was racing, searching for the words that would fix this, but they didn't come.

"Fine," he said, and he walked past her, out the bedroom door.

The world felt like it was moving in slow motion, and he knew he was making a huge mistake by leaving, but he didn't have a choice. She followed him to the top of the staircase and stood watching as he descended to the entryway. He managed not to look at her as he pulled his shoes on and grabbed his jacket off the coat rack. Pulling the heavy front door open, he turned and stared up at her.

"Rachel, I…"

"Please Noah," she said, the quiver in her voice unmistakable, "just go."

When he didn't move, she said again quietly, "Please."

Fuck, how could one word make his stomach feel like it had been ripped in half? He wanted to grab her, and hold her and make her stop looking at him like he was the lowest form of life on earth. Instead, he walked out the door.

Coward, he thought to himself as he sat in his truck. The keys were in the ignition, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. He had no idea what to do. It's not like he could go talk to his best friend about this, Finn would probably try and kick Puck's ass for hurting her. Talking to Matt was out, because he'd tell Brit, who would then tell Quinn. His mother was at work, and even if she wasn't, he doubted he'd have the nerve to tell her what had happened. She'd probably smack him upside the head for being such an idiot. The thought of that made him smile a little. His mom would love Rachel, and not just because she was Jewish.

Puck fished his phone out of pocket, although he wasn't quite sure what he planned to do with it. It was highly unlikely she'd answer if he called, and he doubted she'd find a text messaged apology appropriate. Flipping the phone open, he saw he had several texts waiting on him. Scrolling through them, he saw messages from Matt and Brit, warning him about the blog, one from his mom reminding him to rake the leaves and finally, one from Quinn.

_We need to talk._

Seriously, he knew he'd done some messed up things in his life, but really? Did God hate him this much? A few days ago he would have dropped everything for Quinn Fabray, but right now, the absolute last thing he wanted was to be reminded of what a loser she thought he was. He didn't think he could handle it. There seemed to be a small army of construction workers jack hammering away at his brain, and he was suddenly exhausted. Putting the truck in gear, he pulled away from the curb. Puck decided to go home, take a nap, and deal with Quinn later that afternoon. Then he'd figure out a way to make things right with Rachel.

Then he'd go find the Jewfro kid and kick his ass.


	45. We unleashed a lion

**Author's Note: Grrr… this chapter has been driving me nuts. I'm still not entirely pleased with it, but I'm posting it anyway so I can move on.**

**Oh, and though I'd love to take credit for inventing Puckleberry, I can't. I saw it first on a forum post shortly after Preggars. The topic was baby names, and someone suggested Puckleberry Finn, and I fell in love with it.**

**Thanks again for all the love, your reviews are what get me through chapters like this.**

Quinn leaned forward, cradling her head in her hands and waited for the wave of nausea to pass. She wished she could attribute the queasiness to her pregnancy, but she knew it was the result of Santana playing that stupid video over and over. Like everyone else, she had gotten a text from one of the other Cheerios telling her about Jacob's blog, and they had quickly pulled it up. After reading it, Santana had started stalking around the room, gesturing wildly.

"I just don't get it, what could he possibly see in Rachel Berry?" Santana whined.

"Chill, San…" Quinn said. "Why are you so worried about Puck does? You dumped him remember?"

"Only because you told me I should. I actually liked him you know, I even let him get to third base."

"It was for the best, San, Puck is a loser. You deserve better."

"Better than what? He's the best looking guy in school. Have you seen his abs? They're perfection!"

Quinn lifted her head and rolled her eyes."Really? You'd judge a guy on solely on his abs?"

"Not solely, I take into consideration his face and arms too…"

"My, how generous of you."

Santana glared at Quinn. "I would think you'd be more upset by this whole development. Did you read the part about Finn? I've seen the way he looks at Berry, and if I were you, I'd be worried."

Quinn groaned as the bile threatened to rise in to her throat.

Distracted by the noise, Santana furrowed her brow. "Q, you okay?"

"No."

"Is it, umm… is it the baby?

Quinn knew that her pregnancy was no longer a secret among the Glee club members, but this was the first time Santana had openly admitted she knew about it.

"Yeah, I think so."

"So, it's really true then? You're knocked up?"

Quinn nodded miserably.

"And Finn… he's the father?"

Staring at her bedspread, Quinn nodded again.

"When did you, uh… you know, when did you and Finn…"

Quinn sighed heavily. She knew her friend wouldn't buy the hot tub story."It's a long story San."

"I've got all day."

"Look, it's… complicated. We didn't exactly… I mean it wasn't…"

"Wasn't what?"

"It's really hard to explain."

"How hard can it be? There aren't that many ways to make a baby, Q"

"Right, I know that…"

"So did you, or did you not have sex with Finn?"

Quinn lowered her eyes and picked at an imaginary piece of lint. "No, not exactly."

Santana cocked her head to one side and studied Quinn carefully.

"How far along are you?"

"About eight weeks, I think."

She could almost see the gears in Santana's head turning, trying to calculate the dates. Her friend's eyes narrowed.

"So… right about when Finn joined Glee?"

"I guess…"

Santana remained silent for a full minute, and when she spoke her voice was cold.

"How… interesting."

Quinn arched a perfectly sculpted brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing…" she said. She shook her head abruptly and forced a concerned look on her face. "Never mind. Are you keeping it?"

"I…I'm not sure yet."

They sat in uncomfortable silence until Santana finally glanced at her watch.

"Crap, sorry Q. I've got to go."

"I thought you had all day."

"Yeah, well… I just remembered. I have to, umm… I have something I need to do."

"Well then, don't let me keep you," Quinn said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Santana bounced off the bed, and practically ran for the door.

"I'll call you later," she called over her shoulder.

"You do that," Quinn muttered.

Alone yet again, Quinn lay on her side and curled up into the fetal position. Tears slipped silently down her checks, as she pressed her hand to the small but firm spot where a new life was growing inside her. It seemed impossible to love something so much, and at the same time, wish it didn't exist.

Santana probably hadn't figured everything out yet, but she was suspicious and eventually she'd find out the truth. Once she realized why Quinn had made her break up with Puck, she'd never agree to keep the secret. Quinn knew Finn would hate her, and she doubted Puck would be there for her after the way she'd treated him. One stupid, selfish night had left her whole world in ruins.

After several minutes of wallowing in self pity, Quinn sat up. Picking up her phone, she saw it had been over two hours since she had sent her message to Puck, and he still hadn't replied. Irritated, she stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Who did he think he was? Pregnant or not, she was still Quinn Fabray, Queen of McKinley High School, not some pathetic loser he could disregard. She looked over and studied a photograph on the nightstand. It was a snapshot of her, standing atop a pyramid of people, head held high, with her arms raised in a V. That was where she belonged, and she hadn't gotten there by feeling sorry for herself. Granted, the baby was a curveball, but that just meant she'd have to fight harder for what was rightfully hers.

Quinn changed her shirt, ran a brush through her hair, and grabbed her keys. If Noah Puckerman thought he could get away with ignoring her, she'd just have to show him how wrong he was.


	46. In dreams begin responsibilities

**Author's note: In honor of Jordan Catalano, because in his dreams he always knew exactly what to say to Angela.**

He was dreaming of Rachel. In this alternate universe, he hadn't stuck his foot in his mouth and they had laughed together over that stupid blog. He'd been able to tell her about the baby, and she hadn't flipped out on him. They'd ended up in each others arms on her bed, and after some serious making out, she had looked up at him with those big brown eyes and said… doorbell.

Doorbell? Why the hell would she say doorbell?

Slowly, his dream world began to fade, despite his best efforts to hold onto it.

*Brinng*

Crap. The doorbell. Puck rolled over and covered his head with the pillow, hoping the person would go away. Suddenly it occurred to him that it might be Rachel, and he bolted upright. Jumping out of bed, he pulled his jeans on, threw a shirt over his shoulder and ran for the door. His heart sank when he yanked it open and found Quinn Fabray glaring furiously at him.

"Oh, it's you."

"Gee, don't sound so excited," she said, as she pushed past him into the house.

Shutting the door, he followed her into the living room.

"Sure Quinn, come on in," he muttered.

"Shut up Puck," she snapped, "and for heaven's sake, put your shirt on."

Pulling the white T-shirt over his head, he smirked, "Am I distracting you?"

"No, I'm not nearly as impressed by your abs as some people."

"Huh?"

"Never mind," she said waving her dismissively. "How dare you ignore me?"

"I'm not at your beck and call, Quinn. I was planning on talking to you this afternoon. I was tired as fuck, and I figured it could wait."

"I'm the mother of your child, and I told you we needed we talk, and you figured it could _wait_?"

"Oh, so now it's my kid? What happened to Finn? Make up your mind Quinn."

Quinn stomped her foot. "Don't be stupid, you know this is your baby."

"Do I? I know it _could_ be my baby, but hell, who knows."

"Excuse me?"

His lip curled up in a sneer, "You lied to Finn, who's to say you aren't lying to me? Maybe I wasn't the only guy you spread your legs for."

She looked stung. "Are you serious? I only lied to Finn because I don't want my child to have a loser for a father."

It took everything Puck had to stay calm. "Then why the hell are you here?"

He noticed her face was turning a weird green color, and she threw her hand up to cover her mouth. Grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her into the bathroom. She fell to her knees and hugged the bowl tightly. With a resigned sigh, Puck gathered her long blonde hair in his hands and held it back for her. The sound of her retching made him dizzy, so he slid down onto the floor with his back against the bathtub.

When she finally finished, he reached up and grabbed a hand towel from the rack and handed it to her. Sitting back on her heels, she wiped her mouth clean.

"Thanks," she said softly.

"Yeah well , my mom would have killed me if you puked in our living room."

A tiny smile teased the corner of her lips. "I could've found the bathroom, I meant thanks for holding my hair and stuff."

He shrugged. "I guess it's partly my fault you're sick."

Quinn lifted an eyebrow. "Partly?"

"Uh, yeah… you were there too, and don't give me that 'You got me drunk' crap."

"But…" she started, and then paused. Looking down, she whispered, "You're right."

"Huh? Could you speak up?"

Quinn snapped her eyes up. "I said you were right. There, are you happy?"

"I guess."

She looked down at her hands again, spinning the gold band she wore around her finger. Puck stared at her, but he had no idea what to say. She looked younger than usual, and he realized she didn't have any of that face paint crap on. It was weird, she was always so bitchy and beautiful, but now she just looked like a scared little girl. He leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. He could feel her shaking and his shirt was getting wet from her tears. God, he hated it when chicks cried.

They sat like that, on the middle of his bathroom floor, for almost half an hour.

"Sorry," she said, when she finished crying, "Hormones.

"It's cool. I'm getting used to nutty chicks."

"Huh?"

"Never mind," he said, "So why did you come here?"

"I… I'm not sure really."

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I don't know. I just needed to talk to someone, I guess."

"Why me?"

"Because… well, because I don't have to pretend around you."

"Pretend to be what?"

"Perfect."

Puck laughed out loud.

"What's so funny about that?"

"Let's see, for starters, you're the president of the Celibacy Club, and you got knocked up by a guy who isn't your boyfriend. You're so far from perfect it's not even funny."

She started shaking, and he thought he'd made her cry again. He was about to apologize when she burst into a fit of giggles. She was laughing so hard she couldn't even breathe.

"Are all pregnant chicks this weird?" he asked.

That set her off again. When she finally caught her breath, she looked up at him, smiling.

"Do you love me?"

What the fuck? Where did that come from?

"I… uh,,, I…"

She stared at him expectantly.

Did he? A week ago he would have said yes, hell three days ago he would have said yes. He wanted to say yes, after all, she was the mother of his kid. But when he looked down at her, all he could think about was Rachel.

"No."

Her face fell, and she slowly pulled away from him. He felt like the biggest dick in the world.

"Is it because of how I treated you?" she asked.

Damn it. What the hell was he supposed to say? This was a hell of lot easier when they'd been yelling at each other. The bathroom suddenly felt like a prison cell.

"No… I mean yes and no. I cared about you, a lot. I still do, but…"

"But you never loved me. Do you think you could?"

Rachel's face flashed in his mind again.

He shook his head slowly. "But I'll take care of you if you want, the baby too."

She didn't say anything.

"Do you love me?" he asked. Fuck, where had that come from?

"I don't know," she said hesitantly, "but I think maybe I could."


	47. Wicked Games

**Author's note: Sorry again for the delay. H1N1 is the bane of my existence.**

**Yet again, I hate writing Quinn. I hated writing this. But it really is necessary, so thanks to those of who are sticking through this angst filled part. It'll get better, I promise.**

Quinn watched as Puck's face softened for a brief moment. He leaned forward, reaching a hand out to her. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and smiled with relief. Suddenly his expression changed, and he jerked his arm back. The corners of his lips turned down and a deep crease formed between his eyebrows.

"Why now?"

She stretched out and laid her hand on his knee, "Puck-"

Shifting his leg away from her touch, he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, "Noah."

"Huh?"

"My name, it's Noah."

Cocking her head slightly to one side, she waited for him to explain. He drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly before continuing.

"I just think it's strange. You say you might love me-"

"I said maybe I _could_ love you," she interjected.

"Yeah, whatever, and that's my kid in your belly, but you won't even call me by first name."

She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a small puff of annoyance.

"What has that got to do with anything?"

He stared at her for a long minute with narrowed eyes, studying her face carefully.

"Forget it," he said with a quick shake of his head, "you didn't answer my question. Why now?"

"What do you mean, why now?"

"Damn it Quinn, you know what I mean."

Her mind was racing. She couldn't afford to blow this. Santana wasn't stupid, eventually she'd put two and two together and the truth would come out. Finn would hate her for lying to him, and Santana would hate her for sleeping with Puck. If she didn't find a way to get Puck on her side she was going to end up completely alone, and that was simply unacceptable.

"Because you're the father of my child," she said softly.

His face contorted into an angry sneer. "Funny, that didn't seem to bother you when you lied to Finn. You didn't even have the guts to tell me yourself."

"That was… I was… I didn't think you'd…"

"What, you didn't think I'd man up? You didn't think I'd take care of you, of both of you?"

"No… " she cried desperately. She was panicking now, her breath coming in short gasps. It wasn't supposed to work like this, she knew he wanted her. He should be jumping at the chance she was offering him. Instead he was sitting in stony silence, his eyes fixed in an icy glare. She could see the muscles in his jaw twitching. "I… I was scared. I didn't know what to do."

"Scared of what? Losing your precious reputation? Losing your perfect boyfriend? Face it Quinn, you never wanted anyone to know the truth about us."

She leaned to the side and slumped against the sink cabinet. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she cradled her head in her hands and stared at the white and blue tile on the floor.

When she didn't answer him, he reached back and gripped the sides of the bathtub. Pushing himself into a standing position, he looked down at her and shook his head sadly.

"That's what I thought," he said quietly as he stepped around her and walked out of the small bathroom.

"Pu- I mean, Noah… wait, don't…"

Turning, he looked at her from the hallway. "Don't what, Quinn?"

"Don't go."

He let out bitter laugh. "Go where? You're in my house, remember?"

Quinn hugged her knees closer to her chest and tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill over. She had absolutely no idea what to do. He was right, of course, she hadn't wanted anyone to find out that he was the father, and she hadn't really cared about his feelings at all. But honestly, why should she? She was the one whose parents were going to disown her, she was the one who was going to get fat and ugly.

He sagged against the frame of the door. "Fuck… please don't start crying again."

"Pardon me for being upset," she snapped, "it's not like my life is in ruins or anything."

"Jesus Quinn, what the hell do you want from me?"

She started to lecture him on using the Lord's name in vain, but stopped herself, figuring that would only irritate him more. A single tear escaped, burning a hot trail down her cheek.

"I don't know," she said miserably.

Puck opened his mouth as if to speak, and then seemed to think better of it. He slid down the door frame until he was sitting next to her, but he remained silent, his gaze fixed on a blank space of wall. She could see the thoughts passing like shadows behind his eyes, and she was surprised by the twinge she felt in her heart when she realized he wasn't thinking about her.

When he spoke, his voice was quiet but firm. "You need to tell Finn the truth."

"Who are you to tell me what I need to do?" she said angrily.

"It's all going to come out sooner or later," he said calmly, "Finn may be dumb enough to believe the hot tub thing, but eventually someone's going to tell him how dumb that it is. The longer you wait, the worse it's going to be."

"He's going to hate you, you know."

"Maybe…" he said, sighing, "probably."

"And what if I don't tell him? Are you going to?"

Puck paused before answering her. "No… I should, but no." He shifted his eyes back to the blank wall and continued. "I'm going to tell Rachel though."

Quinn's entire body stiffened with rage. "You're going to do _what_?"

He winced at the acid in her voice, but he repeated his statement slowly. "I'm going to tell Rachel."

She stared at him incredulously. "You can't be serious?"

He turned his head away from her, and said nothing.

"What, do you actually like her?"

Staring at the ground, he shrugged his shoulders.

Quinn laughed cruelly. "You're an idiot. You think she actually likes you? She's in love with Finn. If you tell her the truth, she'll have everything she needs to get exactly what she wants."

Puck turned and glared at her. "Rachel isn't in love with Finn."

"Oh really? And you know this, how? Did she tell you that? Please, this is Rachel Berry we're talking about. The girl would sell her soul to get a solo if that's what it took. Do you honestly think she'd think twice about lying to guy who's thrown slushies in her face in order to get the man she wants?"

Puck flinched and she saw doubt flash in eyes.

"You're wrong," he said, shaking his head.

"Not likely," she said coolly, "but even if I am, do you really think she'll want you when she finds out the truth? Rachel Berry wouldn't have even looked twice at you if she thought she had a chance with Finn. Face it _Noah,_ you're just her consolation prize."


	48. Girls just wanna have fun

**Author's note: Slightly fluffy toward the end, but I needed a break from the angst.**

**Thanks again for all the people who took time to review, they always makes me want to write more. Just to clarify, I don't have H1N1, but I'm a supervisor/administrator in an Emergency Department, and half my staff has been out sick, which means LOTS of hours to cover. It'll be a nice paycheck, but dang I'm tired. **

Rachel sat at the top of the stairs, willing herself not to cry as she listened to his truck idle in the driveway. She vacillated between wishing he would leave and wishing he would come back and apologize. When the engine roared to life, she sighed and felt the hot sting of tears pouring forth. Her body shook with silent sobs as she hugged herself tightly in an effort to fill the empty space he'd left behind. Finally, as the well of salty liquid began to run dry, an overwhelming sense of fatigue permeated her body.

She stood slowly, afraid that her shaking legs wouldn't support her weight and stumbled to her room. Crawling onto the plush bed, she buried her face in a pillow and wished for dreamless slumber. Although her eyes were heavy, jumbled thoughts kept her from nodding off. The carefully folded square of white fabric on her nightstand caught her eye. Snatching it up, she cradled it next to her head and breathed in his scent. Snippets of conversations ran through her head, and she fixated on one sentence in particular.

_Baby, seriously, I really need to tell you something…_

She's been so focused on the blog that she'd barely heard him at the time. _Baby_. He'd called her lots of things, Rach, Rachel, Berry, Princess… but nothing as sweet and intimate as baby. It wasn't the endearment itself that warmed her heart, it was the way he had said it. It hadn't been mocking, or exaggerated, he'd said it almost unconsciously. As if he'd been calling her baby for years. She replayed the moment over and over in her head until the memory of his voice lulled her to sleep.

Several hours later, she awoke to find herself clutching the T-shirt to her chest like a security blanket. Disjointed vignettes of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde slipped slowly back into her subconscious as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. A quick glance at the window revealed that it was early in the afternoon, and immediately she wondered what Noah was doing. Just the thought of him caused the ache in her heart to throb anew, but the pain was duller now.

Shoving his image to the back of her mind, she stretched her arms up and pulled herself off the bed. It was time to focus. High school was fleeting, and someday she'd be so famous that people like Puck and Finn would brag about having known her 'back in the day'. She walked to her desk and began flipping through sheet music trying to decide what song fit her current mood, but her heart wasn't in it. After several false starts, she gave up and picked up the small pink phone and started scrolling through the contact list. She didn't know exactly who to call, only that she didn't want to be alone right now.

After three passes through the list of numbers, she was more depressed than before. How was it possible that she had no friends? Acquaintances, yes… but no one she felt comfortable calling out of the blue, just to hang out. She contemplated calling Kurt, or maybe Tina but she decided against it. She couldn't imagine telling either of them about her night with Noah Puckerman. As she started through the list a fourth time, one name struck her, and she hit the call button quickly before she could lose her nerve. After several rings, a perky female voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi Brittany, it's Rachel… Rachel Berry."

Brit laughed. "Rachel! Hi, how are ya?"

"Um… fine, I guess. I was-"

"I'm soo glad you called. I really wanted to say sorry for last night. You aren't mad at me are you?"

"No, of course not, I-"

"Oh thank god, I was so stressed about that."

"You were?"

"Oh yeah, after the way you stood up to Santana –which was EPIC by the way- I was so worried you hated me."

"Hated you? No…"

"Good, Hey I was just getting ready to head out the mall, wanna come with?"

"To the mall? To go shopping?"

Brit giggled. "Of course, what else?"

"Um… I… well, okay… sure I'll go."

Brit squealed. "Yay! It'll be fun, promise. You live over off of Maple right?"

"Yes, I-"

"Great, pick you up in thirty minutes. Bye!"

The call disconnected and Rachel stared at the phone in a daze, unsure of what exactly had just transpired. `She replayed the conversation in her head, and although it still baffled her, she realized she needed to hurry if she was going to be ready to go when Brit arrived. Punching the buttons on her phone, she quickly called her fathers to let them know what she'd be doing. The pleasure in their voices was palpable, and when she'd asked them if she could use the credit card they'd given her to buy some new clothes, she was shocked when they told her not to exceed five hundred dollars. Five hundred dollars, were they kidding? They must really be concerned about her lack her friends.

Rachel dressed in a hurry, and threw her hair in a messy ponytail. She was just putting the finishing touches on her makeup when the doorbell rang. Grabbing her purse and phone, she raced down the stairs and plucked her jacket off the coat rack. When she opened the door, Brittany rushed forward and enveloped her in a hug.

"I'm so glad you called me! This is going to be fun."

The bouncy blonde's enthusiasm was contagious and soon Rachel found herself smiling brightly.

"I'm glad too," she said, "My dads said I could buy some new clothes."

"Oooh," Brit squealed, "Shopping spree!"

They chatted comfortably during the fifteen minute ride, talking about school, Glee and clothes. Brittany hadn't mentioned the party or Puck at all, and while Rachel was curious as to why, she was also relieved. Once they got to the mall Brit was a whirlwind of activity, pulling Rachel into stores she'd never considered shopping in. Rachel found herself in dressing room after dressing room, trying on anything Brittany passed through the door. It really was easier than trying to argue with the girl. Who knew she could be so forceful? Three hours and several hundred dollars later, Rachel found herself sitting in the food court, surrounded by shopping bags, and splitting an order of cheese fries.

"So, you and Matt? You're dating?" she asked.

Brittany's cheeks turned pink as she smiled shyly. "Yeah…"

"How come you guys aren't ever together at school, or during Glee?"

The corners of the smile turned down slightly. "It's… complicated. Well, no… not complicated, more like stupid?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"It's Q and Santana…"

"What do they have to do with it?"

Brit looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure really, I guess nothing… but they're both miserable right now, so…"

"So you don't get to be happy either? That's incredibly selfish."

Brit raised her hands in a gesture of defeat. "It's just the way it is, I guess. Nobody stands up them. Well, at least not until you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, I've never seen anyone make San lose her cool like that."

"Really? She was upset?"

Brit laughed and told Rachel what had happened after they had been on the porch. Rachel winced at the mention of Puck, but the idea of Santana Lopez being turned down made her smile.

"Matt was so proud of me," Brit said, "it was totally worth it."

Rachel smiled , but the discussion of Puck had dampened her enthusiasm.

"You want to talk about it?" Brittany asked softly.

"Talk about what?"

"About Puck? Did something happen?"

"Why would you ask that?" Rachel said defensively.

"Um… well… no offense, but if I had an empty house, and Noah Puckerman looked at me the way he looks at you, I wouldn't be at the mall shopping."

Rachel's shoulders sagged. "It's… complicated." Thinking about it for a minute, she laughed and continued. "Well, no, really it's just stupid."

A blast of music interrupted the conversation. Brittany smiled brightly and answered the phone.

"Hi baby!"

Rachel listened curiously to the one sided conversation.

"Nothing much, just shopping with Rachel…. Yes, _Rachel_."

Brittany rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I apologized… Thank you, I realize that… Tonight? I don't know. Who's going?"

Brittany listened for a moment, and then covered the mouthpiece with her hand.

"We're going out tonight," she said to Rachel, "Pizza, maybe Putt-Putt or a movie. Wanna come?"

When Rachel hesitated, Brittany raised a hand, "No Puck, no Finn, no Quinn or Santana, I checked."

Rachel wanted to say no, but the idea of sitting home alone seemed worse, so she agreed.

"Great!" Turning back to the phone, she continued her conversation with Matt. "She coming… yes, I'm serious, do you want to ask her yourself? No, I'll get ready at her house… Okay, we'll meet you at seven."

Flipping the phone closed, Brittany grinned from ear to ear.

"Come on, let's go get ready. Once Puck hears about how hot you looked tonight, he'll be kicking himself in the ass."

Rachel smiled tentatively, wishing she believed that.


	49. Tell me about it, stud

**Disclaimer: It's been a while since I've said this, but I still own none of these fabulous characters. They belong to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

After swiping a final coat of mascara onto Rachel's lashes, Brittany stepped back to admire her handiwork. Rachel had a gorgeous face to begin with, so Brittany had gone for a minimalist approach, highlighting her eyes with a soft brown smokey technique. The barest hint of blush made her cheekbones seem higher than usual, and the dark muted lip color was subtle but effective.

"Perfect!" Brittany declared.

Rachel reached for her makeup mirror, but Brittany swatted her hand away.

"Nope, you have to see the whole effect at once. Now close your eyes."

Rachel glared at her, "This is stupid. It's way too much for pizza and putt-putt."

"Oh hush, you look awesome. I'm telling you, jaws are going to hit the floor when we walk in."

Rachel looked at her skeptically, but Brittany saw the smallest hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth. With a small grunt of protest, Rachel closed her eyes. Grabbing her hand, Brittany dragged her towards the full length mirror.

"Okay, now open them."

Rachel slowly pried her lids open, wincing as though she was in pain. After a few moments, Brittany could see that she was shocked, but pleased by her reflection. She giggled as Rachel turned from side to side, checking herself out from every angle.

"See? I told you that you could trust me."

"I look…" Rachel said.

"Freaking amazing."

Rachel broke out a wide grin. "I do, don't I?" she said confidently.

Brittany stepped back and took in the full effect. It had taken over an hour to convince Rachel to wear the outfit, but it had been time well spent. The soft mulberry top hung loosely over her shoulders, emphasizing her collarbones and neck. The wide neckline draped into soft layers over her cleavage, before narrowing into a tight fabric tube that made her waist look ridiculously small. The shirt ended just below her hips, which were covered with dark stretchy denim. The skinny jeans were tucked into dark brown knee high leather boots, the heels of which added three inches of height onto the small girl's silhouette. They had teased her hair into loose curls, and Britt had strategically pinned some of them up to create a flowing mass of chestnut waves. The completed look was subtle, but elegant, essentially a more modern, sophisticated version of Rachel Berry.

Rachel walked over to the jewelry box on her dresser and started to open it.

"No pearls," Brittany said firmly.

"But…"

"Rachel, seriously? You can't possibly think pearls go with this outfit."

Rachel pursed her lips. "Pearls go with everything, that's what Daddy says anyway."

"No, they really don't. Look, I know your dads are great and all, but trust me on this one."

"Fine," she said sharply.

Rachel continued rooting through the small box and Britt watched with interest as the brunette's annoyance turned to puzzlement.

"What's wrong?" she asked, as Rachel flipped tiny drawers open and closed.

"My favorite earrings, they aren't here. I wore them last night and…" her voice trailed off as a look of horror spread across her face. "Crap, I left them-"

Ah-hah, now they were getting to the good stuff. Britt had been waiting patiently all day for Rachel to spill the beans about what had gone down after the phone calls last night. She'd never seen Puck so tied up in knots over a girl before, so the story must be juicy.

She flipped her hand over and casually studied her nails. "Where'd you leave them?"

"I… Uh.. truck. Left them in Puck's truck."

While she had to admit that Rachel Berry had many talents, apparently lying wasn't one of them.

"Wow, must have been some make-out session."

"What? No.. I mean… why do you say that?"

"Well, if you had to take you earrings off…"

"No, it's not like that… I took them off because… because I was cold."

Honestly, did she really think that was going to fly? Brit was aware she wasn't the best student, but she wasn't an idiot. Pressing her lips together, she raised both eyebrows. "Hmm, I see."

Rachel flopped down onto the bed, and began twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"Stop messing with your hair, we don't have time to redo it. So if you didn't leave them in his truck, where are they?"

Rachel's hand froze mid twirl, and her eyes widened in shock.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone, pinky swear." She held out her hand.

Rachel hesitated for a brief moment before reaching out and hooking her finger into Brittany's.

"They're in Noah's room. I left them on his dresser."

Brittany bounced up and down on the bed. "Oh my god, you were in Noah Puckerman's room? When? For how long? Did you sleep with him?"

Rachel laughed, "Stop it, you're going to make me sick. Yes, I was in his room last night after the party, it's a long story, but I spent the night. And yes, we slept together," she paused as Brit gasped, "but we didn't have sex."

Britt rubbed her hands together and grinned. "Details, Rach, I need details."

"Aren't we going to be late?"

Brittany waved her hand dismissively. "Better entrance this way. Now spill it."

Slowly, the whole story tumbled out of Rachel's mouth, ending with Puck's departure after the fight.

"Wow…," Brit said, after she had taken a moment to digest the tale, "I'm impressed."

"Huh?"

"Seriously, I've never heard of Puck acting like this. You're driving the poor boy so crazy, he probably doesn't know which way is up right now."

Rachel's eyes narrowed, "What about when he was with Santana?"

"Psssh, No way. If they weren't making out, he ignored her. He was upset for like, five minutes after they broke up and that was only because she did it in the middle of the hallway."

"Seriously?"

Britt nodded. "Trust me, that boy is crushing on you hard."

Brittany stifled a laugh as Rachel visibly brightened and started preening in the mirror.

"You're sure he won't be there tonight?"

"Not at Angelo's Pizza at least, it's Saturday… he always does some dinner thing with his mom on Saturday."

Rachel sighed, although Brittany couldn't tell if it was from disappointment or relief.

"Do you want him to come out tonight?"

"Not really. I mean I do want to see him, just not in front of a bunch of people."

Britt nodded, she could understand that.

"Maybe I shouldn't go…"

"Uh uh, you are not letting my hard work go to waste. If he shows up we'll go somewhere else, easy as that. Now, get your ass in gear Berry, time to knock 'em dead."


	50. Now I'm hot bros all on me

**Author's Note: So… fifty chapters, over 50,000 words and more love from you guys than I possibly deserve. All in less than thirty days. Not too shabby for a story I started on a whim. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review, you keep me motivated to write. (No, this isn't the end, but we're getting fairly close.)**

**Credit for the title goes to hhh569 (for putting it in a review) and Mike Jones 'cause it's from his song. (well, kinda)  
**

Matt checked his watch again. Britt wasn't exactly the most punctual person, but forty five minutes late was pushing it. He was reaching for his phone when he heard one of the guys say, "Holy shit, who is that with Brittany?" Looking up he saw the girls walking through the door. Brittany was, as always, gorgeous in a low cut black top and jeans, but Rachel? Holy shit was right, she looked fucking hot.

He watched as they walked a few feet into the pizza joint. Wait for it, wait for it… ah there it was. Britt stopped, flipped her hair behind her shoulder and said something that made Rachel laugh. Growing up with four sisters had taught him a few tricks, and he knew a pause for effect when he saw one. The jukebox didn't come to a screeching halt, but slowly almost every male eye in the room found its way to the two hotties, and followed them as they weaved through the crowd to the table.

Leaning down, Brit kissed his cheek. "Sorry we're late."

"No prob," he said, enjoying the vantage point. He could see the black lace peeking out of her neckline.

"Yeah," said one of the other football players, "looks like it was totally worth it."

Matt glanced at him, making sure he wasn't looking down Brit's shirt too, but Eric was practically drooling over Rachel. He punched the guy in the arm, and muttered in a low tone, "Off limits dude. That's Puck's girl."

Eric, not known for his intelligence or discretion, didn't take the hint.

"Thought she was Finn's girl, not Puck's. Besides," he said, sweeping his arm out, "doesn't look like either one of them bothered to show up."

Matt could tell that Rachel was about to bolt, and Brit was nudging him hard. He jerked his head at Mike, and thankfully the dude got the message. Mike jumped up, and threw an arm over Rachel's shoulder.

"Hey Rach, you look awesome, come on, let's go pick out some songs on the jukebox." He quickly guided her away.

As soon as they were gone, Matt pulled his phone out of his pocket. Britt snatched it out of his hand, and held it out of his reach.

"Uh-Uh, you are not calling Puck."

"Why not?"

"Because she doesn't want to see him."

"What the fuck? What happened?"

Britt gave him one of those, 'It's a super secret girl thing, so complicated a man couldn't possibly understand' looks. See? This is why having sisters was handy. He actually knew what that look meant.

"Fine." He'd just text him.

She gave him his phone back, and leaned over further so her mouth was touching his ear.

"No texting either."

"Come on Brit, he's gonna kick the shit out of me…"

"Do you like my shirt?"

He nodded.

"Do you want to have any chance of finding out what's under it?"

Gulping, he paused and finally threw the phone on the table. Had she just threatened him? What had Rachel Berry done to his girlfriend?

She straightened up and smiled, "That's what I thought." With an exaggerated sashay, she moved towards Mike and Rachel.

Matt looked at the six other people sitting at the long table, and assessed the risk. Eric was, as previously demonstrated, a complete douche, but he doubted that Rachel would be interested in him. Of the three remaining jocks, two had brought dates, which left Trevor. Somehow he didn't think the scrawny, acne scarred sophomore would give Puck a run for his money. Now, he just had to hope Mike had enough good sense not to fall head over heels for her, which he was prone to do when any member of the opposite sex showed him attention, and he might be able to keep Puck from beating him senseless tomorrow.

Irritated, he punched Eric in the arm again. "Off limits."

"Dude, I got it, I got it. You got bigger problems than me anyway, bro."

"Huh?"

Eric nodded his head toward the threesome at the jukebox, and he saw that two guys were closing in on them, fast. In a purely non homo way, Matt could appreciate that the guys were what his sister Jenny would call 'studs'. Fuck, he had really been looking forward to that seeing more of that black lace. Picking up his phone, he replayed Britt's words in his mind. She hadn't said anything about picture mail. He quickly snapped a picture just as Rachel looked towards him. Satisfied that it did her new look justice, he quickly typed in a message.

_Dude, come get your girl, before someone else does._

Hitting the send button, he waited for the photo to go through before erasing it. He stood up, and walked over to them, wrapping his arms around Brittany's waist. One of the guys, clearly the wing man, glared at him and walked back towards the table he had come from. Mike, obviously oblivious as to what was going down, looked relieved.

"Dude, I'm glad you're here. I'm starving, I'm gonna go eat."

What a fucking tool, now Matt was stuck. The remaining guy seized the opportunity, and moved in closer to Rachel, angling his body so that he had her full attention. Matt was trying to decide how to tell the dude to fuck off politely, when Rachel spoke up.

"You know what? I'm really hungry too. It was a pleasure to meet you… Jason, was it? Maybe we can chat later." Her words were nice but her tone said she'd rather drink battery acid. Hooking her arm in Matt's elbow, she let him guide both girls back to the table.

Britt was giggling as they walked away. "His name was Daniel."

Rachel grinned mischievously. "I know."

Once they got to the table, Rachel settled into a chair between Brittany and one of the random date girls. He hadn't bothered to learn their names. They all ate pizza and talked for almost two hours, and Rachel even chimed in with a few dirty jokes.

Matt had to admit, he was damn impressed with Rachel Berry. Even when Mike fawned all over her, she was polite but maintained her distance. She made it clear to everyone that she wasn't available, without actually saying the words. Confident now that he wasn't going to get his ass kicked by Puck, he suggested they move on to their next destination. The sooner the better, he wanted to see some lace before Britt's curfew. They were busy gathering and counting out money for the bill when he heard Rachel gasp. About damn time Puck showed up.

When he glanced at the door, he was shocked when he saw Finn standing there. Fuck, fuck, fuck. This could not be good. Brittany grabbed Rachel's arm and pulled her towards the bathroom.

"Be right back, just need to have a quick girl talk."

Matt nodded, and turned back toward the approaching giant.

"Hey Finn, what's up? Where's Quinn?"

Finn waved him off. "Where did Rachel go? I need to talk to her."


	51. Grounded for life

**Author's Note: I apologize in advance. Ya'll are gonna hate me. Trust me… please? There's a reason for it, and the end result will (hopefully) be better than what you were expecting.**

Puck woke up when he heard the front door open. The room was dark, and the red glowing lights on his alarm clock told him it was 7:30PM. That meant his mother was home from work. Shit, he hadn't meant to sleep that long.

The situation with Quinn had gone downhill pretty quickly after the consolation prize remark she'd made. She'd ended up storming out, but not before telling him that she'd never admit the baby was his, no matter what happened. He'd gone back to bed after that, figuring that being with Rachel in his dreams was better than nothing. Also, he had a better shot of seeing her naked there than he did in real life.

Stupid fucking dreams. Instead of living out his pornographic fantasies, Rachel had yelled at him. She'd called him a loser, and he'd had to watch her make out with Finn. There had been one weirdly hot scene where she'd been making out with Quinn, but then Quinn turned into a vampire and bit her. He wasn't exactly sure what that was all about.

A loud knock jarred him from his thoughts.

"Honey Bear? Are you okay? Is it safe to come in?"

"It's safe Mom." Sheesh, five years later, and she still had to remind him every time.

She walked into the dark room and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Noah, honey are you okay? Why are you in bed?"

"I don't know, I just don't feel good." Which was true, he didn't feel sick, but he damn well didn't feel good either.

Laying the back of her hand against his forehead, she fired off a list questions. "Do you have a fever? Body aches? Headache? Vomiting? Diarrhea-"

"No, mom, I'm just tired. I'll be fine." Having a nurse for a mother, a real nurse, not a crazy wannabe nurse like Mrs. Shue, really sucked sometimes. You couldn't fake shit.

"Do you want any dinner?"

"No, I'm not really hungry." Crap, wrong answer. She flicked the lamp on his dresser on and eyed him carefully.

"Noah, what is going on? You're worrying me."

Puck pushed his face into the pillow to avoid the light. "Nothing Mom, I'm fine."

"The last time you turned down food, you had appendicitis, now look at me."

He turned his head towards her and squinted his eyes. "It's been a long day."

His mother was no fool, and he knew what was coming next.

"This isn't about that awful Santa girl is it?"

She hated Santana. The first time she'd come over to his house for dinner she'd told his mom their house was 'quaint'. That had been the second strike (the first being that she wasn't Jewish). When she'd kissed him at the dinner table, his mother had practically kicked her out of the house. Ever since then, she'd refused to say the girl's name correctly.

"No Mom, not Santana."

"Who then?"

Turning away, he hoped she'd take the hint. Instead, his mom stroked his head like she had when he was a kid, and for once he didn't try and push her hand away. The gesture was comforting, and it reminded him of Rachel.

"Well whoever she is, I already don't like her."

He laughed weakly. "You'd love her." Sitting up, he leaned his head on her shoulder, waiting for her to ask is the girl was Jewish.

"Really? Is she Jewish?"

So predictable."Yeah."

"Really? And when exactly was she over here?"

Unexpected. "Huh?"

"The wonderful Jewish girl I'd like, when was she here?"

"She wasn't" Other than Finn, he was definitely not allowed to have people over when she wasn't home.

"Noah Elijah Puckerman…"

Shit, all three names, he was definitely in trouble. She knew. Damn it, how did the woman do it? "I swear she didn't come over while you were at work." Not technically a lie.

"Is that so? Then I suppose you've started wearing mascara?"

Huh? He followed her eyes to his pillow and saw the dark streaks where Rachel's mascara had rubbed off.

"Hand them over."

"Mom, I'm really sorry, it won't happen-"

"Not only did you lie, but you broke two rules. No people over when I'm not home, and no girls in your room."

He didn't think it would help to point out that she'd been home almost the whole time Rachel had been there. Her hand was outstretched, waiting for him to hand over his freedom.

"Mom, I promise-"

"Noah. Now."

Reaching over, he grabbed his phone and keys and put them in her hand. Great, just fucking great. Flopping back onto the bed, he tried to think of way his life could possibly suck any more than it right now.

"Quit the drama, you'll get them back Monday morning." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You know I expect better things from you, honey bear." Reaching up to turn out the lamp, she paused and picked up a small item from the dresser. She held up the gold and pearl earring, "Classy."

Shit, Rachel's earrings.

"Make sure you remember to return these, they're quality jewelry. Of course you could always give them to her when she comes over for dinner."

"Dinner?"

"I work Monday, so how about Tuesday night? I'd like to meet this girl."

"Mom, I-"

"Tuesday it is then. I certainly hope she has better table manners than that Santa girl."

Puck was too shocked to correct her. Rachel wasn't even speaking to him, how the hell was he going to convince her to come to dinner? Not bringing wasn't really an option, because as tough as Rachel was, he feared his mother's wrath more. This, apparently, was how his life could suck worse.

*Beep*

The phone in his mother's hand signaled an incoming message.

"Mom, can I just-"

"Monday morning, Noah." Flipping the phone open, she powered it off. "Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes."


	52. Didn't mean to cause a Ruckus

**Author's note: For Joa, Christie, Maja, Carli, Bridget, Jessica and the others at fanforum for all the love.**

**(I'll give a shout out to Megan later, since there aren't any sexy times in this chapter)**

**Ya'll totally made my day.**

**And I still hate trying to write Finn. He never comes out right.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or Star Wars, though owning either would be pretty bad ass.**

Finn made a mistake. Not a little mistake but a big, gigantic mistake. Like picking the Dark Side over the Jedi. Except he hadn't really picked the Dark Side, he just hadn't had the courage to stay with the Jedi. Not that Quinn was the Dark Side, really… she wasn't all hideous like the Emperor and stuff, and technically she was more like Padme, because she was pregnant, but not with twins and he wasn't in love with her. Rachel was kind of like a Jedi though, all smart and using big words and stuff. Plus he was pretty sure she could kick Quinn's ass in a lightsaber battle, the girl was scary determined when she wanted something. Whatever… the point was, he had made a mistake. He shouldn't have let Rachel go.

Last night he'd dreamt of her. In his dream, Quinn was still pregnant but the baby wasn't his, and when Rachel had run after him it was to tell him she loved him. He woke up this morning smiling, looking forward to seeing her, until he remembered that she was with Puck. What the hell did she see in him anyway? Rachel was weird, but he didn't think she was weird enough to get turned on by being slushied. Puck had been a jerk to her, and she liked him? Not just liked him, but _liked _liked him? That was just wrong. Puck couldn't even hit a high B.

Finn had driven by her house this morning. He was going tell her how he felt, how he needed to be there for Quinn and the baby, but that it was Rachel he really wanted. She liked it when people talked about their feelings, so he figured it might work. Because no way did Puck talk about his feelings, especially to a girl. Finn had prepared a speech, he had even looked up some big words to use. Rachel liked big words.

Puck's truck had been in her driveway.

He'd spent the rest of the day in his room, trying to play Call of Duty, but he couldn't make it past Level 2. His mom checked on him a couple of times, and he could tell she was worried about him. Quinn called him, but he ignored her, even though he felt horrible about it. Sometime after dinner, he decided to try again. Even if Puck was there with her, he was going talk to her, he had to tell her.

Rachel wasn't home. He'd had an awkward conversation with her dads, and they told him that she had left a note saying she was going out for pizza with Brittany. Brittany? Since when did Rachel hang out with Cheerios? Her dads were nice to him, they seemed really excited that he was looking for her. Odd, most dads hated the idea of boys sniffing around their daughters. They offered to call her for him, but he'd said no, that he'd go find her. That had made made them really happy, but Finn didn't know why.

Rachel took his breath away. He'd spotted her immediately after walking through door, and he'd almost turned around and walked out. She looked amazing, except she didn't really look like the Rachel he knew. The Rachel he knew wore the dorkiest outfits (minus the skirts, which were hot) and she never ever wore her hair like that. Finn guessed he should like this look better, but in a weird way, he didn't.

Rachel had seen him too. She'd gasped and then disappeared with Britt. Finn had looked around for Puck, but he was nowhere in sight. His truck hadn't been outside either. Matt, Mike and a couple of other football players were there, so where was Puck?

"Hey Finn, what's up? Where's Quinn?"

Finn wasn't in the mood for small talk, or for thinking about Quinn. "Where did Rachel go? I need to talk to her?"

"Uh… Bathroom, I think. Dude, you okay?"

"Yeah… where's Puck?"

Matt shrugged. "Good question, I think they're fighting."

Finn's heart soared. "About what?"

"Dunno, Britt wouldn't say."

"Why is she here then?"

"Britt invited her, they're friends now or something."

Finn snorted. "Yeah, right." Rachel wasn't the type to judge people, but Brittany? She didn't do anything without Quinn's approval. No way she wanted to be friends with Rachel. What was Quinn up to?

Matt narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"C'mon, Britt, friends with _Rachel?_ You know that's weird. Cheerios don't hang out with freaks."

Matt shoved his hands in his pockets, "You hang out with her."

"Yeah, but that's different."

"She's actually pretty cool."

"Since when?"

"Since last night, at the party."

"She shouldn't haven't been there." Not true, she should have been there, but he should have been the one to bring her.

Matt had a weird look on his face. "Puck wanted her there. He likes her."

"Bullshit, Rachel's not his type. He just wants her because she liked me." Finn wasn't exactly sure that was true, but it was really the only explanation that made any sense. He knew that on some level, Puck was jealous of him, but he didn't really know why. Things had been wicked weird between them lately, ever since Finn had joined Glee.

Matt was staring past him now, his chin down and eyebrows raised.

"Is it so hard for you to believe that someone could actually like me? That I might actually fit in with people at school?" Rachel's voice came from behind him.

Turning around he saw that she was furious. "Rach, no… I didn't mean…"

"Save it, Finn. I think you made your point perfectly clear. Noah likes me, and I like him. Deal with it."

Everyone was staring at them now. "Then why isn't he here?" Bad move. He could see the pink crawling up into her cheeks, and knew he needed to get her out of here before she made a scene. He moved to grab her arm.

Rachel stepped back, out of his reach. "He had plans with his mother, but he's meeting us at Putt-Putt." Hooking arms with Britt, she turned to speak to the blonde. "Speaking of which, we're running late. We should go."

Britt opened and closed her mouth quickly, and then nodded. "C'mon Matt, let's go. You should call Puck and let him know we're on our way."

"Uh yeah, sure, call Puck… got it." Matt said, moving past Finn and out the door with the girls.

Finn stood there in shock as the other members of their group filed past him.

Mike was the last to leave, and turned just before the door. "You coming or what?"


	53. Alone in a room full of people

Rachel sagged against Brittany's car, trying to control her breathing. Granted, she didn't have a lot of experience with interpersonal relationships of the teenage variety, but she couldn't believe that she had misjudged Finn so badly. Why had he said those things? She knew he wasn't happy that she liked Noah, but they were still supposed to be friends. Friends didn't humiliate each other in the middle of a restaurant full of people.

Several feet away, Britt and Matt were speaking in hushed tones.

"What do you mean he isn't answering his phone? Why not?"

"Dunno, it's going straight to voicemail. Must be off."

"Why would he have his phone off?"

"Fuck, Britt, I don't know, I'm not his babysitter. Besides, he didn't answer earlier when I…"

"When you what? Did you call him? I told you-"

"I know, I know, but dude…"

"Fix this Matt. _Now."_

Rachel knew eavesdropping was rude, but she hadn't been able to help herself. It had been quite obvious what they were discussing. She didn't want Brittany fighting with Matt because of her, the poor couple had enough problems as it was.

"Guys, really… it's okay. I'll be fine. I think I'll just go home."

Brittany stomped her foot. "No, you won't. Matt is going to go get Puck and we're all going to have a _fantastic_ time playing Putt-Putt."

The corners of Rachel's mouth turned up slightly. "I'm not sure anyone has a fantastic time playing miniature golf. " Her smile faded when she saw that Matt was shifting from side to side, and looking around nervously. "What's wrong, Matt?"

"Look… it's… ah… I mean, I know Puck likes you, really likes you, but…"

Brittany crossed her arms over her chest. "But what? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! Well not really… I mean, I sent him a picture of Rachel," he flinched when Brittany smacked him on the arm. "What? You didn't say anything about picture mail. Anyway, I sent him a picture and told him he needed to get his ass down here."

Rachel swallowed hard and pinched her eyes shut. "When?"

"Uh… yeah… almost two hours ago. Look, he must not have gotten the message or something."

Rachel shook her head. She wanted to believe that, but deep inside, she just couldn't. "It's fine," her voice cracked as she tried to steady herself, "Britt, can you please just take me home?"

Brittany nodded slowly, "I'm so sorry Rachel, I never meant…"

Rachel held up her hand. "It's not your fault."

"Hey, are we going, or what?" Mike called out from across the parking lot. "Finn said he'd meet us there."

Rachel groaned, and sank further towards the ground. What had she done to deserve this? Although she knew that the probability of an earthquake occurring in Lima, Ohio was virtually zero, she prayed that the pavement would open up and swallow her whole. Maybe she could change schools. She could probably convince her dads that a transfer would be beneficial to her future career.

Brittany gripped her by the elbow. "Stand up straight." Turning toward Matt, she said, "Go get Puck. We'll meet you there."

"But Britt…"

"You know he'll kick your ass if you let Rachel be embarrassed like this. Go."

Matt opened his mouth, but Brittany stared him down. "Fine," he muttered. Walking away, they could hear him grumbling. "…Black lace…Better be worth it…Puck…Jackass…"

Rachel stared slack jawed at Brittany."I can't… No, I just want to go home."

"You are not going home, you are going to stand up straight and smile, and prove to everyone what an idiot Finn Hudson is."

"Britt, I really… I really can't." She could feel her hands shaking.

"Rachel Berry, I'm ashamed of you."

"Huh?"

"I thought you wanted to be a Broadway star… isn't that what you're always saying at Glee?"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. Suck it up and pretend. It's called acting. You, of all people, should know that."

Rachel couldn't believe this was happening. Before today, the last person in the world she would have expected to come to her rescue was Brittany. Yet here she was, doing just that. The question was why? It didn't appear that Brittany had anything to gain by helping her, in fact she was likely to suffer a horrendous backlash from Quinn and Santana. Her actions were completely illogical, and seemed to be a disproportionate response given the brevity of the friendship. Rachel was normally willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, but really, where had that gotten her? Stuck in the parking lot of the local pizza joint, facing utter humiliation, that's where.

"Rachel?"

Britt's voice broke into her thoughts. "Um, yeah… sorry… What were you saying?"

"I was telling you to get in the car."

"Why?"

"Duh… so we can go to the Putt-Putt place."

"No, I mean why are you doing this for me?"

"Doing what?"

"Helping me, making Matt help me. Is it just because you're afraid of Puck?"

Brittany laughed. "Afraid of Puck? Hardly."

"Then why?"

"Why not? You're my friend."

"Am I? I mean really, we've never even really talked before today."

Brittany's face fell. "I thought…"

Rachel felt horrible, she hadn't meant to imply that she didn't like Brittany. "No, I've really enjoyed today, it's just that, well, it seems strange… you're friends with Santana and Quinn, and they hate me…"

"So you assume that I do too. Seriously Rachel, do you think this a big trick or something? Or are you just saying that I couldn't possibly have my own opinions? Which is it?"

"Neither, I'm sorry…" Oh God, she'd really messed up, Brittany looked furious. "I'm just not sure what to think about anyone any more. Every time I think I know someone, it turns out I'm wrong."

"Funny," Brittany said, looking down her nose, "I feel the same way right now."

"Look, Britt-"

"No, really, it's okay Rachel, I understand. Get in the car, I'll take you home."

"But what about Matt… and Puck?"

"They'll be fine, I'll handle it."

Rachel's heart sank. She'd just blown the once chance she had at making a real friend. Her lack of a social network hadn't bothered her so much before today, but she guessed it was hard to miss what you'd never had.

"Come on," Britt said, "I don't have all night."

With a sigh of resignation, Rachel got into the car. They spent the short ride in silence, and when Brittany dropped her off in front of her house, she didn't even said goodbye. Rachel sat on her front steps, hugging her knees. Her dads would pepper her with questions the minute she stepped inside, and she needed a moment to gather her thoughts.

It was funny, with the exception of family, she'd been alone most of her life, and yet, tonight was the first time she felt truly lonely.


	54. It's a bittersweet symphony, this life

After a very tense dinner with his mother, during which he had been subjected to dozens of questions about Rachel, Puck had locked himself in his room. Picking up his guitar, he started to pick out notes, trying to recreate the song he'd been playing the day she had walked into the music room crying. Had that really only been Wednesday? So much had changed… It seemed like forever ago.

The music came back to him slowly, and he thought of the staff paper Rachel had given him. Most of the time, he played songs by ear, although he did know how to read guitar tabs. During his brief time in Glee, he'd learned a little about standard notation, but not enough to be able to translate the notes he played into sheet music. He never really cared about that before, but suddenly he was irritated that he didn't know how. Maybe he'd ask wheelchair kid for help, the dude was pretty fucking brilliant when it came to the guitar.

Puck had just finished reworking the chorus when he heard the doorbell ring. Fuck, who the hell was it now? It was already past ten, and his mom was going to have a fucking aneurysm if it was one of his friends. She was in the living room, watching TV, so there was no way he could beat her to the door. He had just stepped into the hallway when he heard her voice.

"Matthew Rutheford, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Sorry Mrs. P, I know it's late… I just really need to talk to Puck. It's kind of an emergency."

"An emergency? Is everything okay? It's not Finn, is it?"

"No, no… nothing like that ma'am, I guess it's not really an emergency, but it is really important."

Shit, it had to be Rachel.

"Noah is grounded at the moment, so I'm sorry, but it'll have to wait until Monday."

Damn it, no way was he waiting until Monday. He walked down the hallway, into the living room. "Dude, is it about Rachel? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, it's Rach-"

"Noah…"

"Mom, please? I just need to know if she's okay." If Matt ever told anyone he'd said that, Puck would kill him.

She raised an eyebrow. After a long moment, she sighed. "5 minutes. That's it."

"Thanks Mrs. P."

She looked from Matt to Puck and then shook her head and retreated to the kitchen.

"This had better be good dude. I'm in enough trouble as it is."

"What'd you do to get grounded?"

Puck narrowed his eyes, "None of your business, what's wrong with Rach?"

Matt quickly gave him the condensed version of the story.

"So anyway, if you don't show up, it's going to look like you stood her up, and then Britt's going to kill me."

Puck ran his hand back and forth along his mohawk. "Fuck, there's no way my mom's going to let me out of the house."

Matt sighed. "Then I guess we're screwed. I feel bad though. Rachel's actually pretty cool."

"Yeah, she actually is."

Matt pulled out his phone, probably to call Britt and tell her the bad news.

"Wait a minute," Puck said. "Wait outside. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Huh?"

" Dude, don't worry about it, I got this. Meet you in ten." Puck actually had no idea if he 'had' this or not but he didn't want there to be any witnesses to what he was about to do. Not that anyone would believe it anyway, hell, he wasn't sure he believed it. All he knew was, if this worked, Rachel had damn well better forgive him. Sucking in a lungful of air, he let it out slowly and walked into the kitchen.

"Mom-"

"Forget it Noah, you're grounded."

"Mom, please, just hear me out?" The look on her face told him this might be harder than he thought. When she didn't say anything Puck continued. "Look, you wanted to know about Rachel, right?"

"What about her?"

Fuck, this was going to suck. It took a minute, but once he started talking, the words tumbled out of his mouth. "Rachel is… well, truthfully, she's loud, and annoying. She talks way too much and she always tries to tell everyone what to do. Everyone in school makes fun of her, and she gets doused with slushies weekly." He was so not owning up to the fact that it was usually him who doused her, he had his limits.

His mother arched her brow, clearly not enjoying the way he was describing her.

"The thing is…" He hesitated. Shit, this was hard. "The thing is, underneath all the crazy, she's a pretty cool chi-, I mean, girl. She's an amazing singer, and she has like, goals and dreams and sh…. stuff. She's funny and sweet, and she's classy. You always say I should look for a classy girl, right?"

His mother nodded her head slightly.

"Rachel acts all tough, you know? Like nothing ever gets to her. She's practically a midget, but she just sticks her chin up and refuses to back down." The thought of that made him smile. "But Finn was right, she's not as tough as she acts. Stuff bugs her way more than she lets on."

He could see that her face was softening now, he was totally getting to her. Time to go for the kill.

" I know I messed up, and I totally deserve to be grounded," Not really, but whatever, "but right now, Rachel's out with a group of people who are expecting me to show up, and when I don't, they're going to think I stood her up."

"Matt can explain that you're grounded."

"Yeah, maybe. If it were any other girl, that might work. But Rach is… different. People aren't going to let her live this down." Puck slumped into the chair, and toyed with the edges of the placemat. Staring at the yellow fringe, he continued, his voice growing softer until it was barely above a whisper, "I just don't want her to get hurt because I was dumb enough to get in trouble." Looking up he met her gaze. Shit, why wasn't she saying anything? She was just sitting there, staring at him with a funny look on her face. He wasn't sure if she was going to yell at him or burst into tears. Please God, not tears, he couldn't handle another crying woman today.

Finally she broke the tense silence. "Fine. You have one hour… but you're cleaning the gutters tomorrow, in addition to the raking you should have done today."

Leaping out of the chair, he wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks mom."

"I mean it Noah Elijah Puckerman, one hour, not one minute longer. If you're late, so help me God, you will never see the light of day again. Understood?"

Noah gulped hard, "Understood."

He started to walk out of the room but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Noah?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm proud of you, Honey Bear." She pulled him down, and planted a kiss on his forehead. He could feel the blood rush to his cheeks.

He nodded. "I love you, mom."

"Love you too."

As he walked out of the kitchen he heard her calling after him. "Tuesday night, Noah. I really want to meet this girl."

He paused, squeezing his eye shut. This had better work, damn it. If being Rachel's knight in shining armor didn't work, he didn't have any idea what would. Grabbing his jacket, he walked outside.

"Come on, I only have an hour. Let's get this over with."

Matt's eyes practically popped out of his head. "What the fuck, man? How the hell did you pull that off?"

Puck knew his mother had a reputation for being hella strict. "Dude, are you questioning my badassness?"

Matt looked impressed. "Not anymore."

It took them fifteen minutes to get to the miniature golf course, and during the ride Matt told him all about Britt and Rachel's unexpected friendship.

"It's crazy, Britt spent like, six hours with Rachel and all the sudden she's all bossy and shit. She actually tried to blackmail me into not calling you."

Puck laughed. "Yeah, Rach has a weird effect on people."

"She's cool though, I thought I was going to have to beat someone up to keep dudes away from her, but she totally handled it."

"Handled it?"

"Yeah, I mean, she blew this one guy off like it was nothing. You should have seen it."

Puck's heart was racing now. "She... uh, she did?"

Matt laughed. "Chill, dude, the chick is fucking nuts about you."

Puck tried to act cool, it's not like he cared what she thought or anything. Rachel Berry was just another chick in a long line, right? Except she wasn't, and he knew Matt knew it too. "Look, dude…"

"No worries man. I get it."

See? This was the difference between chicks and dudes. He was pretty sure that if it had been Rachel and Britt having this discussion, it would have taken like, two hours and a pint of ice cream. Women were nuts.

When they finally arrived, Puck practically jumped out of the car.

"Dude… play it cool."

What the fuck, Matt was telling him, super stud Noah "Puck" Puckerman, to play it cool? What was the world coming to? Bizarro fucking universe was right.

"Yeah, man, I got it."

They walked toward the entrance, and spotted the group easily. The fact that Finn was freakishly tall came in handy sometimes. Puck shoved his hands in his pockets and tried not to freak out when he realized Rachel wasn't there.

"Sup dude," he said, nodding towards Finn. He didn't even bother asking where Quinn was, he was just grateful she wasn't there.

"Nothing much."

Everyone was watching them, waiting to see how this was going to play out. Matt cleared his throat, breaking the tense silence. "Uh hey, anyone know where Britt is?"

Mike, the one person who didn't seem to be paying any attention to the unfolding drama, spoke up. "Naw dude, she and Rachel left the same time we did, but they haven't shown up yet." Man, that kid was fucking dense.

Puck turned toward Matt, about to tell him to call Brittany, when her red Eclipse came screeching into the parking lot. The two boys strode towards the car, just as Britt was getting out. Puck looked through the windshield, but the passenger seat was empty.

"Where's Rachel?"

Britt's lip curled up in a sneer. "At home, poor bay wasn't feeling well."

Her menacing tone made Puck stiffen. He lowered his voice, hoping the others couldn't hear him. "What'd you do to her Britt?"

"Me? I didn't do anything. Though apparently, I'm not good enough to be friends with Little Miss Goody Two Shoes."

"Huh?" What the hell had happened? Rachel was a lot of things, but he couldn't picture her being such a snob towards Brittany. He was about to demand the full story, when Finn came strolling up.

"Where's Rachel?"

Brittany threw her hands up in the air. "Why is everything about Rachel Berry now? What the hell is so great about her? You," she said whirling on Puck, "have been giving her weekly slushie baths for the past year and a half, and now you're what, in love with her? Yeah, right. Good luck with that."

Finn laughed. Big mistake, because Brittany turned on him next. "…and you, Mr. Frankenteen, everyone in school knows you've been following her around like some lovesick puppy dog, and yet you still haven't bothered to break up with Quinn. Speaking of which, where is your pregnant girlfriend?"

Both Puck and Finn were frozen, staring at her with their mouths open.

"You're pathetic, both of you." She shook her head and looked at Matt. "I am so over this. Let's go."

"Britt-"

"_Now._"

Matt looked at Puck. "Dude, sorry…"

Puck waved his hand. "I get it man, go." Looking at his watch he saw he had exactly 39 minutes until he had to be home. He was so fucked. Matt climbed into the tiny car, and the tires squealed as Brittany peeled out of the crowded parking lot. He and Finn stood there awkwardly, neither one of them knowing what to say.

"So…" Puck started. Before he could get out anything else, Eric came sauntering towards them.

"Wow," he said, "Never thought I'd see both Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman get stood up by a fucking Glee freak. Whattsa matter guys? The little midget too much for you?"

Puck's vision turned hazy and red, and he clenched his fists reflexively.

"I mean, the bitch is hot and all, but she's annoying as fuck. Might not be so bad if you could keep her mouth occupied, but other than that? Fucking worthless."

Puck lunged forward, but he was too late, Finn had already tackled the douche bag to the ground. Puck tried to pull him off, not to stop the fight, but because he wanted a piece of the asshole's face. Finn took a wild swing when he felt the hand on his arm, and his fist connected with Puck's jaw. Eric took the opportunity to roll out from under his attacker and he scrambled back towards the group. Without even thinking, Puck punched Finn back, and before he knew it they were wrestling on the ground.

No one made any attempt to stop the fight, and they grappled for several minutes, until they were both panting for air. Finally, Puck sat back, and tried to assess his injuries. His jaw was throbbing, his knuckles were scraped and bloody, and he was pretty sure Finn had cracked one or more of his ribs. Glancing over, he saw that Finn looked about the same. They stared silently at other for at least a minute, before Puck glanced down at his watch again. Only 24 minutes left, and it was at least a fifteen minute drive. Not that he had a ride or anything. No way he had time to go see Rachel. He didn't dare risk being late, his Mom was already going to kill him for fighting.

Slowly, he pushed himself into an upright position and grudgingly offered his hand to Finn. His best friend hesitated and then grabbed it, pulling himself up. They said nothing, but Puck saw the small nod of Finn's head.

"Gotta go, man… My mom'll murder me if I'm late."

"You need a ride?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, that'd be cool."

They walked towards Finn's boat of a car, leaving the murmuring crowd behind them. Once inside, Puck leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes, praying Finn would take the hint. Amazingly, he did, saying nothing until he pulled in front of Puck's house.

"So… uh… are we…" Finn hesitated, "Are we cool and all?"

"Yeah man, it's all good." Except the both knew it wasn't.

"And Rachel?"

"Is mine… if she still wants me," Puck said firmly.

Finn stared at the steering wheel, running his hands up and down the sides. Without looking up, he nodded slowly. Puck knew he should say something, anything, but he couldn't find the words. It was one of those really awkward moments where they both realized that no matter what happened, nothing was ever going to be the way it was before.

"Thanks for the lift, dude. See you Monday."

"Yeah," Finn said, his voice cracking, "Monday."


	55. I don't think you're what you seem

**Author's note: I fully admit, this chapter is random and fluffy. I've written it six different ways, and even though I'm not happy with it, I'm just going to post it and move on. Sorry.**

**Thanks to Christie for her help... Man Candy is all her :)  
**

_**Puckleberry Finn? McKinley High's Bizarre Love Triangle**_

_This gossip surrounding this particular Berry keeps getting juicier and juicier. Hot on the heels of her Friday night debut into the McKinley High elite social scene, Rachel Berry's appearance (sans a certain big cat hunter) at Angelo's Pizza last night caused quite a stir. Bystanders say that her new BFF Brittany (of Cheerio fame) gave her a long overdue fashion update. The trademark knee socks and pearls were nowhere in sight, replaced by a sizzling hot outfit that could've been ripped from the pages of the latest fashion magazine. The new look is said to have garnished quite a bit of male attention for the darling Diva, but even though her precious Puck was nowhere in sight, Berry made it clear that he's the only one getting a piece of that pie. _

_Enter Finn, her former flame, who burst onto the scene demanding to see the scrumptious sophomore singing sensation. The exact details of their exchange are unclear, but it's reported that Rachel remarked, "Noah likes me, and I like him. Deal with it." Hmmm… did she call him _Noah?_ This reporter's intimacy detector just shot through the roof._

_So where was the Noble Noah? No one seems to know why the brooding bad boy wasn't by his Berry's side, although one person claimed he had a prior engagement with his Mama. It turns out, when the mohawked man-candy finally did make an appearance at the miniature golf course, the ravishing Rachel was nowhere to be found. She was seen leaving Angelo's with Brittany, but when the chirpy Cheerio arrived to play Putt-Putt, she was alone. Again the exact details of the discussion are unclear, but it's said that Britt brought out her bitchy side, taking the two boys to task for their treatment of her new found gal pal. After pronouncing them "pathetic" she gathered up her main squeeze Matt and made a dramatic exit._

_Hudson and Puckerman seemed stunned by the outburst, and were only further antagonized by Eric Holman's off color comments regarding Rachel. A furious Finn fought for her honor, but it didn't get interesting until Puck tried to participate in the smack down. Holman hustled out of the picture as the two best friends duked it out, over… Well, no one seems to know exactly what they were fighting about, but it's a safe bet it had something to do with the missing Berry. _

_Noah likes Rachel and the feeling is mutual, that much is clear. So I ask again, what is Finn (presumably still the property of Queen Bee Quinn) doing in the picture? Methinks there is something rotten in the state of Denmark…_

Rachel laughed as she closed the lid to the laptop. For the second day in a row, she was the primary topic of the McKinley High blogosphere, but after a good night's sleep, a long workout and a morning visit with her grandmother, it seemed trivial in the grand scheme of things. Even the previous day's post wasn't the travesty she had remembered it being. It was possible she may have overreacted yesterday morning. Not probable, but possible.

Aside from the fact that Jacob apparently had an unhealthy attachment to alliteration, the second half of today's entry was chock full of interesting news. She really wished she could call Brittany and find out what had actually happened. Stretching her arms over her head, she pushed back from her small desk and stood up. She had just decided to head to the basement to watch _West Side Story_ when the doorbell rang. Peeking her head out the door, she eavesdropped as her Dad answered.

"Hi Mr… Um, Berry? Or is Rachel's other dad Mr. Berry?"

Rachel could hear her dad laughing, they were quite used to such questions. "It's fine, you can call me Dan, Rachel's other father is Rich."

"Oh, well then, hi Dan!" Brittany said, "Is Rachel home?"

What was Brittany doing here? Rachel walked to the top of the stairs, and saw the blond smiling brightly, holding a plate of what appeared to be brownies. Spotting Rachel, she waved cautiously.

"Hey Rach, I come bearing chocolate."

Rachel couldn't help but smile. Her dad ushered Brittany inside and shut the door behind her. Rachel descended the wide staircase and eyed the brownies longingly.

"Those look really good."

"Homemade," Brittany said, "Well, homemade from a box, but still. They probably aren't as good as your 'I'm sorry' cookies, but…"

Rachel laughed, "They're chocolate aren't they? You can never go wrong with chocolate."

Britt smiled, obviously relieved that her peace offering had been accepted.

"I was just about to watch _West Side Story_," Rachel said, "would you like to stay?"

"Oh my gosh, yes! I love that movie."

Brittany followed Rachel downstairs to the basement, and her eyes widened with excitement when she saw the wall of mirrors and the ballet barre that lined the back half of the large space. Squealing with delight, she shoved the plate into Rachel's hands, raced over to the parquet floor and pirouetted several times.

"You have your own studio? In your house? That's amazing!"

Rachel watched as the blonde effortlessly executed a series of complicated steps. She had seen Britt dance with the Cheerios, and during Glee, but Rachel realized that, although she wasn't en pointe, her movements were clearly from the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Brittany's eyes were closed as she danced around the silent room. When she finished, she dipped into an exaggerated curtsey.

"God, I'm so jealous. I will kill to have something like this in my house." Looking up, Brittany seemed to realize that Rachel was staring at her. "What?"

"That was… you were incredible. I knew you were a good dancer, but…"

Brittany tilted her head to the side. "But what?"

"I just never knew you were _that_ good."

Brittany laughed as she kicked off her shoes and placed her right foot on the barre. Raising her arm over her head, she leaned forward in a deep stretch. "I've taken at least six dance classes a week for as long as I can remember. What did you expect?"

Rachel studied her carefully as she returned to an upright position and then bent backward away from the barre. While Rachel loved to dance, it wasn't her passion, and she focused the bulk of her energy on singing. She knew she was good at the basics of ballet, tap and jazz, but Brittany was clearly a more highly trained dancer than she was.

"Why?"

"Why do I take so many classes?" Brittany asked, looking up from the deep back bend.

Rachel nodded.

"Duh… because I want to be a professional dancer." She pulled upright again, switched legs and leaned forward.

"You do?"

Britt laughed. "You know, you aren't the only with dreams of making it big Rachel. I'm getting out of here when I graduate. I'll probably go to go LA, but maybe New York. Who knows?"

Rachel was stunned. It had honestly never occurred to her to ask Brittany about her dreams or aspirations. The bubbly blonde had always seemed fairly content to be seen as a Cheerio and not much else. Why on earth would she waste her time cheerleading when she could dance like that?

"You're wondering why I spend so much of time on Cheerios, aren't you?"

Rachel blushed. "No, I mean yes, but…"

"It's okay, my mom and I fight about it all the time. Besides the fact that it's a nationally ranked team, it's still dancing and performing, plus it's fun."

Rachel was thoroughly confused now. What did fun have to do with anything?

"You should see your face Rach, it's a trip."

"Huh?"

"You look like someone just told you that they were closing down all of Broadway."

Rachel gasped in horror. "Bite your tongue!"

Britt laughed so hard, her foot slipped off the barre. "You're too easy. C'mon, don't you ever do anything just for the fun of it, just because it makes you happy?"

"Of course, singing makes me happy."

Britt rolled her eyes. "Besides singing."

Rachel searched for an answer, but found that she didn't really have one. Shrugging her shoulders, she said. "I guess not."

"Most people actually admire you, you know, because you know what you want and you work hard to get it. It's the fact that you never relax that weirds them out."

"I weird people out?"

"You know what I mean. But like, Friday night, and yesterday? You were relaxed. Totally normal, well almost totally, and you were having fun."

"What's your point?"

Brittany lifted her foot again and bent backwards, "No point. I'm just saying you should think about doing it more often. You're fun to be around when you aren't lecturing people."

"Is that a compliment?" Rachel found it hard to take advice from a girl who was talking to her while she was practically upside down.

"Totally." Suddenly Britt popped up and clapped her hands. "I have the best idea!"

Rachel eyed her warily, "What's that?"

"We should go on a double date. You know, me and Matt, you and Puck."

"Umm… right. You do remember that Puck and I aren't exactly on good terms, right?"

Brittany furrowed her brow, "But… Oh God, you don't know what happened last night, do you? I mean, after I…"

Rachel shook her head. "No, only what I read in Jacob's blog,"

"I'm sorry Rach, I wasn't thinking."

Rachel shrugged.

"Look, I'm sorry too, for, you know, being such a bitch and all."

Sighing, Rachel leaned against the wall. "It's okay, I know now I was letting my insecurities interfere with rational thinking."

"Is that, like, an apology?"

"Yes," Rachel said, laughing, "it is. I'm sorry for assuming you were like Quinn and Santana."

Brittany smiled, "Apology accepted, so now do you want to know what _really_ happened last night?"

"Of course!" Rachel marveled at how easy that had been.

The two girls sat on the sofa with the brownies in between them, devouring the treats while Brittany told her the whole story. When she was finished, Rachel leaned back and tried to make sense of everything she had just heard.

"So Noah's grounded?"

"That's what Matt said."

"Did he say why?"

"Nope, Puck wouldn't tell him why."

"But his mom let him leave to come see me?"

"Something like that, Matt said he has no idea how Puck pulled that off. Apparently his mom is super strict."

Rachel thought of the woman who called her son 'Honey Bear' and stifled a laugh.

Britt cocked her head. "What's so funny?"

Rachel shook her head. "Never mind, it's nothing."

"Anyway, so that's why Puck didn't come when Matt sent him the picture, he didn't have his phone."

"Did Matt say how long he was grounded for?"

"Just til Monday, apparently."

Rachel sighed with relief. That meant she still had another night before she had to face him. "So I just have one last question."

"What's that?"

"Did you really call Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman pathetic in front of everyone?"

Brittany grinned broadly. "I did. You should have seen their faces. They were priceless."

Rachel smiled and picked at the crumbs on the plate. Is this what normal girls did? Eat brownies and gossip with their friends? Before today, she would have said that was a waste of time, but now she realized just how much she'd been missing out on.


	56. You spin me right round

**Author's note: For Megan… I hope you enjoy the "Sexy Times" **

Noah sat in his truck, parked outside of her house, waiting for her to come out. Where was she? He had been there for almost an half an hour. When the front door opened, his heart started racing and he sat up straighter, gripping the steering wheel with both hands. Instead of Rachel, a well dressed man stepped onto the front porch, stopping short when he saw the vehicle idling in front of home. Shit, this must be one of her fathers. Noah hated dealing with fathers, and usually the feeling was mutual. Most men didn't react well to a kid with a mohawk taking out their little girl. The man stared for moment and then began striding toward him. Noah certainly hadn't planned on this, but it looked like he didn't have a choice. Unbuckling his seat belt, he opened the car door and stepped into the cool morning air.

"Noah Puckerman, I presume?" the man said, offering his right hand.

How did her dad know who he was? "Uh… yes Sir, Mr… Berry?" Puck placed his palm into the offered hand and winced as the older man squeezed it tightly.

"Call me Dan, and it's a pleasure to meet you. Rachel's told us so much about you."

"She, uh… she has?"

Dan laughed at his obvious discomfort. "All good things, son, don't worry. She tells us that you're quite the talented guitar player."

"I… um… yeah, I mean, thank you. I play a little."

"Well we certainly enjoy good music in our home, perhaps you'll come to dinner tomorrow night? Maybe play a little for us afterwards?"

"Uh… sure. I mean, no, I can't…" Tomorrow was Tuesday, and if he didn't bring Rachel over, his mother would kill him.

Dan's eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh well, then perhaps another time."

"No… it's just… it's just my mom. She wants me to invite Rachel over tomorrow night so she can meet her…"

Her father's eyes lit up. "Oh, I see, well that's wonderful. Why don't you and your mother come here instead? Then we can all meet each other."

Noah thought he'd rather walk barefoot over burning coals. "I'd… uh… I'd have to check with her…" He knew his mother would be delighted.

"Of course, of course… just let us know. We'd love to have you both." The man was eyeing his face carefully. Gesturing towards his split lip and the bruise on his jaw, he asked, "Football injuries, son?" His voice indicated he clearly did not believe football was the cause of Puck's mangled appearance.

"Uh, yes Sir." There was a moment of tense silence as her father sized him up through narrow eyes.

"Hmm… I hope the other 'player' looks worse. "

Puck nodded.

"Well then," the man said, ending the awkward moment, "I suppose you've come to drive Rachel to school?"

"Yes Sir."

"Ah… well, I'm afraid she's already gone. Brittany picked up her early this morning, something about practicing before school. I'm surprised Rachel didn't call you, it must have slipped her mind."

Puck nodded slowly. "I'm sure it did. I'll just meet her at school."

"Have a good day, son. It was nice to finally meet you."

"You too, Sir." Puck turned, and climbed back into his truck. He was about to pull away from the curb when he heard Dan call out to him.

"Don't forget, dinner tomorrow night."

Puck wanted to slam his head into the steering wheel, but he waved instead. Was this a conspiracy to drive him insane? If it was, it was working. He didn't even know if Rachel would talk to him, and now he was supposed to bring his mother to meet her fathers tomorrow night? His lip and jaw were throbbing again, and his ace wrapped ribs were aching.

He'd made it home Saturday night with three minutes to spare, but that hadn't done anything to dampen his mother's fury when she caught sight of his face. She had lectured him for twenty minutes (fighting is wrong, violence never solves anything, blah, blah, blah) while she tended to his injuries. After cleaning his face and hands, she'd slapped a pack of frozen peas on his jaw, and made him take off his shirt. The newly formed bruises on his torso had alarmed her, and he had spent ten minutes talking her out of taking him to the emergency room for x-rays. After bandaging his chest tightly, she'd cradled his head in her arms, pressing her lips to his shaved scalp.

"Is she really worth all this, Noah?"

Pressing his eyes closed, he'd nodded slowly.

"I hope so," she murmured.

Sunday had gone by quickly and he'd woken up this morning to find his keys and phone on his nightstand. After staring at the picture Matt had sent him, he'd had to spend an extra ten minutes in the shower. Dressing quickly he decided to surprise her and drive her to school, hoping to smooth things over in private. Stopping on the way to her house, he'd picked up a slushie for her. It was kind of a crappy peace offering, but he couldn't bring himself to buy her flowers, that was just entirely too gay.

Putting the truck in gear, he pulled away from her house, disappointed that he had missed her, but glad that she and Brittany had apparently made up. Glancing at the clock on the dash, he saw that he still had thirty minutes before the first bell. If he hurried, he might be able to catch her before class.

After breaking several traffic laws, and nearly running over several of his classmates, he pulled in the parking lot, and made a beeline for the music room, clutching the cold plastic cup in his hand. He burst in to find the two girls sitting on the floor, whispering furiously. Brittany looked up at him and smiled.

"About time Puckerman." She gathered her bag in her hand and stood up, moving toward the door. Reaching up she gave him a peck on the cheek. "Sorry for calling you pathetic." With that, she glided out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

Rachel remained sitting, staring at the floor. Her face was hidden by a wall of dark hair, but he could see her fingers toying nervously with the tassel of her loafers. Shoving the cup forward, he spoke quickly. "Here I brought you this."

She looked up. "Really, Noah, a slushie?"

"Yeah, it's… uh… supposed to be ironic or something." He'd had to look that up.

Throwing her head back, she let loose a peal of laughter. "You really should try to make it to English class more often."

He wasn't sure what she meant by that, but he didn't really care. She was smiling now, and he moved closer, sitting down beside her. He plucked a straw from behind his ear, and offered it to her with the cup. "It's grape. I know that's your favorite, because the last time I threw it on you, you licked your lips before you cleaned it off."

"Tearing the wrapper off the straw, she popped it into the icy drink and took a sip. He tried not to think about how good her lips looked wrapped around the narrow tube, and how much better they'd look wrapped around his…

Groaning, he shifted uncomfortably. "I'm… uh... I'm really…"

She smiled up at him. "I know. Apology accepted. Thank you for the slushie."

"You're welcome."

Before he knew what was happening, she had set the cup down, and thrown her leg over him, straddling his lap. She grasped his face between her hands and her lips pressed urgently into his. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. His cracked ribs were screaming in protest, but he couldn't care less. He slid his hands down to her hips and pulled her forward. As usual, she was wearing a scrap of material that he supposed qualified as a skirt, and although he couldn't see anything, he could feel the heat coming from between her legs as she rocked against him. The thought of her panties rubbing against the bulge in his jeans nearly did him in, and he tore his mouth away from hers.

Raising his hand, he pushed her hair back from her flushed face and saw that she was breathing hard. Staring into her glazed eyes, he laughed. "I take it you missed me, Princess."

She grinned, and her eyes slowly focused on his face. Gasping, her eyes widened in horror. "Noah, you're bleeding!"

Wiping his hand across his mouth, he wasn't surprised to the streak of blood. With the way she'd attacked his mouth, it was no wonder his lip had split open again. "It's nothing."

Leaning to the side, she rummaged through her backpack, extracting a pack of tissues. The movement was torture, and he wondered if she had any idea what she was doing to him. She had to be able to feel him pressing into the soft cleft between her legs. When she settled back into his lap, he groaned again, and she furrowed her brow.

"Am I hurting you?"

He laughed weakly. "Not in the way you think."

Frowning, she dabbed the Kleenex over his lip.

"Finn?"

He nodded.

Setting her lips in a firm line, she scolded him. "I absolutely abhor violence, you know."

He dropped his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I know."

She was trying to fight it, but the edges of her lips curved up in a small smile. "Still, it's kind of arousing to know that you're willing to risk your physical well being to protect my honor. Very… primal."

He could think of a few very primal things he'd like to do with her, none of which would be considered protecting her honor.. Shifting her weight in his lap, he grinned. "Then it was totally worth it." Grasping her hips again, he pushed downward, pressing her heat closer to him. Their lips met and a bolt of electricity shot through him, just as the warning bell rang.


	57. Harder and Harder to Breathe

*****Warning: This chapter convinced me that I need to upgrade the content rating on the story to M. If you are uncomfortable with this, please just stop here. *****

**Author's Note: Payment for all the angst and fluff I've put you through.**

**Also... this is fiction. I feel compelled to say that I do not advocate being in a moving vehicle without a seat belt on. Seat belts save lives, and you guys are cool 'cause you read my story, so I would hate for anything bad to happen to any of you. So, yeah, please wear your seat belt. I'll sleep better at night.  
**

Somewhere in the back of her mind, behind all the brightly colored flashes of light that were blooming like flowers, Rachel heard the bell ring. Forming a coherent thought while his lips were pressed against hers was excruciatingly difficult, but she managed to pull her mouth away from his. "Noah," she groaned, as he pushed her hips down with his hands. He was kissing a spot on her neck that she never knew existed, sending chills through her body. "Noah, please… class… people… any minute now."

She could feel him growl against her skin. "Five minutes."

"We don't have five minutes… bell… school." His touch was robbing her of the ability to form complete sentences.

Jerking his head back, he blinked and looked around the room. "Fuck."

"What?"

His breathing was labored, and she could feel the rise and fall of his chest. Raising his hand, he pushed her hair back and stared into her eyes, licking his lips. "I… it's just, I…" A loud noise outside the door startled him, and he jumped up, hauling her up by the waist. "Grab your bag."

Reaching down, she hooked the strap in her arm, throwing the backpack over her shoulder. Noah let his arm drop and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her out of the room. She followed him as he led her through the crush of people in the hallway, stopping short when she saw they were headed for the doors. When he realized she wasn't moving, he yanked on her hand. "Come on, before the next bell rings."

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere but here, now move it before we get caught."

She gasped. "I am not skipping class."

"Yes princess, you are. Biology will survive without you for one day."

How did he know she had Biology first period? "Noah…"

He looked at her, his eyes pleading, "Please, Rach? One class? I'll have you back by second period, I promise."

She sighed, how was she supposed to say no to that? "Fine, one class."

He grinned and pulled her through the doors. Hand in hand, they raced across the parking lot. He yanked the driver's side door open, and she jumped in, sliding across the bench seat. Thrusting the keys in the ignition, he started the truck and sped out of the parking lot. She hadn't even bothered with her seat belt, choosing instead to curl against him. It was chilly out and she'd left her coat on top of the piano in the music room.

"Are you cold, baby?" he asked, taking his right hand off the steering wheel and wrapping his arm around her, pulling her closer.

The way he said 'baby' sent shivers down her spine. "A little." She snuggled closer into his side.

He groaned loudly. "Watch the ribs."

"Oh, Noah, I'm sorry…"

Taking his eyes off the road for a brief moment, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "It's okay, like I said, totally worth it."

She closed her eyes, letting the heat radiating from his body warm her. He smelled like soap and leather, with a touch of lavender that she suspected was from laundry detergent. It was strange how well her body seemed to fit into his, like he was built just for her. She let her hand rest on the hard muscles of thigh and she smiled at sound of his sharp intake of air. His breath quickened as she moved her fingers in lazy circles over the rough material of his jeans, and she felt a sense of power knowing that her touch was exciting him.

The truck was slowing down now, and it occurred to her that she hadn't even asked him where they were going. Opening her eyes, she saw nothing but trees on either side of the wide street. Noah lifted his arm from her shoulders, and used both hands to steer the vehicle down a dirt road. About a mile down the thickly wooded path, a small clearing appeared off to the right. He drove beyond it slightly, shifted into reverse, and backed into the open space. Flipping the gear lever into 'Park', he set the parking brake and turned toward her.

She was about to ask him how he knew about this spot, when his mouth crushed down onto hers. The angle was awkward, so slid her hips across the seat, wrapping her fists in his shirt and pulling him with her. He followed, struggling to slide his arms out of the sleeves of his letterman jacket. When he started to pull away so he could get the coat off, she whimpered and yanked him back. Sliding her arms up she tugged and pulled until he managed to free himself and toss the jacket behind him.

He was in the middle of the long bench seat now, and he leaned back against it, his left hand tugging on her right hip. Knowing what he was asking for, she swung her leg over him and straddled him just as she had in the music room. The upholstery rubbed against her bare knees as she slid them further apart, and sank down into him. His hands were on her lower back now and he was pulling her forward. Electricity shot through her body as the thin fabric between her legs rubbed against his jeans and she felt one of his hands working to free her shirt from the waistband of her skirt, while the other stealthily moved its way up her bare thigh.

She moved her hands from his shoulder, sliding them down the solid wall of muscle that was his chest. He moaned her name into the kiss, and the hand on her thigh moved higher, slipping under the rough wool fabric of her skirt. His lips slid down her neck and he nuzzled under the collar of her shirt, grazing his lips over her collarbone. The thumb of his left hand was tracing a pattern over the inside of her thigh, dangerously close to spot where her body met his. Leaning back slightly she reached for the top button of her blouse. His head jerked up in surprise, and he quickly moved his hands upward, pushing hers out of the way.

"Please…" he rasped, staring into her eyes, "let me do it? I wanna…" His voice trailed off, but she didn't need the words.

She smiled and nodded.

Slowly he unbuttoned the top button, and pushed the thin fabric to the side. Moving his head forward he kissed every inch of the newly exposed skin. She closed her eyes and ran her hands over his head, letting the feel of his lips on her skin wash over her. Popping the next button loose, he repeated his motions. She was aching with anticipation, wishing he'd rip her shirt off and devour her, but he didn't. When the last button was undone, he slid the white cotton over her shoulders and down her arms, leaving her in a simple white lace bra. This time, she didn't have the urge to cover herself, or to hide herself from him.

She watched his face carefully as his eyes roamed over, trying to gauge his reaction. Bringing his hands up, he trapped her cheeks between them and stared into her eyes.

His voice was hoarse when he spoke."Baby, you are so beautiful." Pulling her face to his, he kissed her softly, letting his fingers wrap themselves in her hair.

At that exact moment, Rachel's heart filled and poured over, until finally she let go and let herself get lost in him.


	58. She's a rebel

Puck sucked in a ragged breath as she slid her hands down the front of his chest. He was convinced that she was trying to kill him. Did she realize that she was moving her hips in small circles? Not grinding or anything, but it was just enough to create a constant friction between her panties and his jeans. The shooting pain in his ribs was currently the only thing keeping him from going over the edge, and even then, he was still pretty close.

His right hand was on her leg and she had let him slide it up under her thick wool skirt. Her skin was amazingly soft underneath his calloused fingers, and he wondered what it would feel like against his lips. She shivered as he ran his thumb along the inside of her thigh, and he knew that it was less than two inches away from the smooth fabric of her underwear. He wanted to move his hand closer, wanted to stroke what he knew would be damp silk.

His mouth was on her neck now. Nuzzling the collar of her shirt aside, he tasted the skin over her collarbone. Damn it, still sugar cookies and sex. Did she taste like that everywhere? God, he wanted to find out. He was just about to lay her back, when she shifted and brought her hands up. He thought for a second that she was going to push him away, but instead her fingers fumbled with top button on her blouse.

Oh hell no, that was his job. He ripped his hand from beneath her skirt, and gently pushed her hands away. "Please," he begged, searching her eyes, "let me do it? I wanna…" He wanted to know that she trusted him, that she wanted this, and that she wanted _him._ He was holding his breath. Even before she nodded, her eyes told him everything he needed to know.

He carefully unbuttoned the first button, and pushed the fabric apart. He let his lips graze over every inch of the newly exposed skin, watching her chest rise and fall quickly as he touched her. Moving on to the next button, he went through it all again. He wanted to rip the shirt off and devour her, but he owed her this. She deserved to have this done right, and he needed her to have the chance to stop him if she changed her mind.

When he popped the final button loose, he slid the thin white cotton shirt back, over her shoulders, letting his fingers trail along her silky soft skin. One strand of thick dark hair had fallen forward, over her shoulder and he stared at that. Finally, when the blouse had fallen to the floor of the truck, and she hadn't moved to cover herself, he let himself look.

Thank god for his ribs, or else he would have lost it right then and there. The bra was nothing fancy, but for some reason the simple white lace against her skin, the way it hugged her curves... It was definitely the sexiest thing he'd ever seen a set of boobs come wrapped in. He could feel her shaking, hear the way she was sucking in air and he knew she was nervous. Reaching up he trapped her cheeks between his hands, and looked into her dark brown eyes.

What he saw there made his heart lurch. Nobody had ever looked at him like that before. In that moment, he knew nothing existed in her world except for him and that he would do anything to be the man he saw reflected in her eyes. The words were trapped in his throat, strangling him. When he finally spoke, they weren't the words he wanted to say.

"Baby, you are so beautiful."

That was true, she was beautiful, but she was so much more. He opened his mouth again, but he was speechless. So he leaned in and kissed her softly, and tried instead to show her what he was feeling. When she melted against him, he knew she understood. Twining his fingers in her hair, he deepened the kiss and somehow, he lost himself in her.

When she finally pulled away, he realized he had no idea how long they'd been kissing like that. Reaching up, he brushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ear. He let his hand linger on her cheek, and when she smiled down at him, the words started to tumble out of his mouth. "Rachel, I think that I-"

The grating sound of Celine Dion pouring from her phone interrupted him. They both tried to ignore it, but it was too late, the moment was gone. Rachel slid off his lap, and reached for backpack, which had fallen on the floor. Pulling the phone out of the front pocket, she glanced at the screen and she sighed heavily.

"It's Brittany."

He snatched the phone out of her hand and pressed the talk button.

"This had better be fucking important."

"Puck?" Brittany asked.

"No, it's the fucking Pope."

"Jeeze, no need to be a complete asshole."

Puck growled into the phone.

"Fine, fine… look I was just calling to let Rachel know that Mr. Schue is looking for her. He was worried when she didn't show up for class."

"She doesn't have Spanish til second period."

"Riiiight," Brittany said slowly, "and now third period's almost over. I had to sneak out to the bathroom to call her. Where is she anyways? Is she okay? Why are you answering her phone?"

"Thanks for the heads up Britt, she'll be there in a few minutes." Punching the end button, he tossed the phone on the dashboard. Rachel had obviously gotten the gist of the conversation because she was struggling to put her shirt on. He waited for her to flip out, but she was still smiling. Leaning over he gave her a quick peck on the lips, wincing as the movement sent pain shooting through his chest.

"Sorry princess, time to head back to the real world."

She stuck her lip out in a fake pout as she quickly buttoned her blouse. "Are you sure?"

He laughed so hard he had to splint his ribs with his arms. "Look at you, little Miss Rebel. You do realize you missed three classes?"

She put a finger to her chin and pretended to think about that before breaking into a wide grin. "Totally worth it," leaning back, she pulled her seat belt on, "now c'mon, let's go. We can continue this later."

He perked up immediately at the thought of continuing their make out session later. "I gotta say Berry, I'm impressed."

"Why's that?"

"You aren't freaking out or anything."

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly. "It would appear that spending time with you in an intimate fashion seems to relax me, I'm definitely starting to think we should engage in these activities on a more regular basis."

He groaned loudly. Yeah, she was definitely trying to kill him.


End file.
